A Pretty Chaotic Day

Dear Diary,

Christmas day was just what I suspected.  First came the antlers.  Then came the Christmas sweater.   I was appalled.

The Cupcake and Room Runner arrived at about 1 PM.  Then the chaos began.

The Cupcake said that Santa got her just what she wanted, as she finished tearing open the last of her presents...  a Bouncing Baby Babbles.  I'm hoping she'll lay it somewhere and forget about it so I can chew on it's foot.

She also got a trunk full of different dress-up stuff.  Mom said she was a princess.  Whatever that is.

The Room Runner was wearing a pair of cowboy boots that I was a little leery of.  One kick from them and I'd be down for the count.  When he started chasing me I ran to Mom and she saved me.

The Cupcake - turned Princess scuffed around the house in her new robe carrying a baby.  No worries with her...

They all seemed to migrate to the village where Dad played train with them for the longest time.  

The Princess started going a little ballistics on us and began firing the Room Runners gun randomly at everyone in the room....  so unlike my Rissie...  I guess the temptation was too much.

All the peoples got together for a picture and Mom insisted that I smile.  Honestly, the lady's nuts.

Wearing the sweater was tolerable since I did get a pretty neat Christmas stocking in return...

  

Inside was a cow that squeaks.  It must be made of some pretty good stuff, cause I've only been able to chew off the ears and one leg.  I'm no quitter though.  The heart (squeaker) is coming out!!!

All in all, a pretty chaotic day.

After hours of play, the Room Runner and Princess finally went home.  But they took Mom with them... saying something about stopping for Chinese.

They didn't bother to ask me if I was interested in joining them.  And after I put up with their shenanigans all day.

Oh well, the day's over now.  And I need to rest.  

Goodnight.  Gracie.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas Everyone!

If you get a chance, check out this YouTube video someone sent us....  

Getting Lost In A Book

SCENE1: Curtain opens.  Four girls sit before a fireplace. 

JO: (Slamming the book closed.) Christmas won’t be Christmas without any presents! 

AMY: I don’t think it’s fair for other girls to have pretty things, and we shall have nothing at all.

I swallowed hard and tried not to think about the thing that frightened me the most – beyond the dusty stage floor where I stood with my sixth grade counterparts- and into the stale school smell.  Though the small musty cafeteria turned auditorium was dark, I knew the audience was out there… and my line was next.  I hoped they couldn't hear my teeth chattering or the squeak in my voice.

BETH: We’ve got Father and Mother and each other.


I did it!  I made it through my first line without fainting and I actually remembered my lines. 

It was a triumphant year as I faced my stage fright  head-on, and following the grade school performance  the magic of Santa filled the auditorium as he handed out an orange and box of candy to each student.  It was important to act fast when telling him what we wanted under our tree... there were many children waiting their turn.  I went along, and asked for a new pair of shoes, even though I was strongly suspicious that Santa was not real, and that our parents were the real Santa's.  


It was bittersweet, being old enough to know the truth. Letting go of the magic left a sadness that would live in my heart forever.  I wanted to believe that life was magical and innocence commonplace.  Growing up is something we wish for when we're young and detest when we're old.  


That Christmas I would receive the one thing that would shape my life from there-on-out.  My Grandma arrived at our house shortly after noon with her bag of presents.  It was something we always looked forward to, all six of us kids.  We'd already tore open the Santa  stash, and we couldn't wait to dig in to Grandma's presents next.  


"Wow, a book!" I said.  Then I began paging through...  I couldn't put it down.  


"Christmas won't be Christmas without any presents," grumbled Jo, lying on the rug.  


And so began part two of my magical, mystical escape from life.  Getting lost in a book is like being in a time machine, taking you to another place somewhere in time.  You feel what others feel, see what others see and are involved in whatever is happening on that page.  

May your Christmas be magical.  May your heart be light.  To all my blogging buddies:  I wish for you safety, good health, love, happiness, joy, and a wonderful and blessed Christmas.  Thank you for giving me the opportunity to come into your lives by reading your blogs, to see, experience and feel what you feel.  Knowing you has made my life better.

These very old videos I found on YouTube are some of the magic from my childhood days.  They take me back... to a simpler time...  Enjoy.