"Christmas: 'you know... for kids!'"
Tuesday, December 26, 2006 Filed in: my life
| deep thoughts
Christmas this year was different from every other
year in a lot of different ways. if you've been
reading my blogs, i'm sure you can guess that part of
it had to do with what's been going on in my personal
life lately. but today, i'm choosing to focus on the
part of Christmas that was different in a good way.
as many know, the Cork family has been living with my parents for the past four months as their house is being remodeled. (as Ella says, their house is "broken." three year-olds have such a great way of simplifying things.) anyway, it's been pretty awesome to have them there. but Christmas took it to a whole new level.
at some point, Christmas started to become sort of a letdown. i mean, when you're a kid, you have all the build-up and anticipation of this holiday that (from a commercial standpoint... though i suppose from a spiritual one as well in a way) is all about you. what would Santa bring me? what would my parents get me? what would i get to eat? what would our family do? and on and on.
but, as we grow older, the excitment... the magic... it grows less potent. we remember the excitement of Christmas days past, but the present never seems to match it. at least, not for me. that is, until now.
my family decided that we'd do all of our presents on Christmas Eve so that Christmas morning would be all about the kids. for the first time in years, i got caught up in the excitement. only this time, from the other side of the Claus (as it were). i played with the kids on Christmas Eve and helped build the anticipation for the next morning. i stayed up late with Matthew and Mardi and my family and we carefully placed each gift that Santa brought the three kids. (as is quite predictable, some assembly was required as i put out Ella's Little People Castle with drawbridge action and trumpet sounds.) i grew anxious for the next morning as i hadn't in years as we decided upon the optimal placement for these gifts in order to illicit the greatest amount of joy, surprise and excitement from the kids the next morning. it was fantastic!
Matthew and i made the stupid mistake of staying up until 1:00am in the jacuzzi. this was stupid of course because children like to get up REALLY early on Christmas morning to rush downstairs and find what Santa has left for them. the ironic thing though was that i was so excited for them to come down, that i woke up about every 1/2 hour during the night as i slept on the couch because i wanted to make sure that i didn't miss a single thing. in the end, i was up at 6:00am waiting for them and they didn't come down until 7:00. (apparently, my dad got caught up in it too. he was up at 5:45.)
of course the moment came... the children came down. Nolan saw his Nintendo DS and literally fell over with excitment. (just as i did at his age, he quickly disregarded any clothing gifts without even so much as a glance.) Sophie was elated about her rollerblades and her (somewhat creepy) doll whos hair and makeup she can do over and over with the included accessories. and Ella... well, she was so caught up in the excitment of the day that it didn't really matter what she got. seeing her dolls and her Little People Castle with the drawbridge action and the trumpet sounds just added to it. and when she saw the ballerina outfit... well, let's just say she went from pajamas to naked to ballerina in about 24 seconds.
i had more fun just taking pictures and sitting back and watching them tear through it all than i think i ever had being on the receiving end when i was a kid.
when i was little, i remember thinking how boring it must be for parents on Christmas Day. they don't get much (besides clothes and house stuff that nobody wants). they just get to watch the kids get all the good stuff. my perspective has changed a bit over the past 20 years. parents are lucky... i think they actually get the better end of the deal. i can't wait until i get to have Christmas with my own kids.
the rest of Christmas was a little more normal. the family came. we had way too much food. i ate way to much of the food. and, of course there was the inherent sadness of it being the first holiday in several years without Stacy. but, all-in-all... being able to focus on the kids made up for (or at least distracted me from) the things that were missing.
anyway, i hope your Christmas was as good (or better) than mine and that you were able to feel as blessed as i was.
matt
ps... the "you know... for kids!" in the title of this blog is from a movie called "The Hudsucker Proxy" which is this quirkly, great movie about the invention of the hoola-hoop. check it out if you get the chance.
as many know, the Cork family has been living with my parents for the past four months as their house is being remodeled. (as Ella says, their house is "broken." three year-olds have such a great way of simplifying things.) anyway, it's been pretty awesome to have them there. but Christmas took it to a whole new level.
at some point, Christmas started to become sort of a letdown. i mean, when you're a kid, you have all the build-up and anticipation of this holiday that (from a commercial standpoint... though i suppose from a spiritual one as well in a way) is all about you. what would Santa bring me? what would my parents get me? what would i get to eat? what would our family do? and on and on.
but, as we grow older, the excitment... the magic... it grows less potent. we remember the excitement of Christmas days past, but the present never seems to match it. at least, not for me. that is, until now.
my family decided that we'd do all of our presents on Christmas Eve so that Christmas morning would be all about the kids. for the first time in years, i got caught up in the excitement. only this time, from the other side of the Claus (as it were). i played with the kids on Christmas Eve and helped build the anticipation for the next morning. i stayed up late with Matthew and Mardi and my family and we carefully placed each gift that Santa brought the three kids. (as is quite predictable, some assembly was required as i put out Ella's Little People Castle with drawbridge action and trumpet sounds.) i grew anxious for the next morning as i hadn't in years as we decided upon the optimal placement for these gifts in order to illicit the greatest amount of joy, surprise and excitement from the kids the next morning. it was fantastic!
Matthew and i made the stupid mistake of staying up until 1:00am in the jacuzzi. this was stupid of course because children like to get up REALLY early on Christmas morning to rush downstairs and find what Santa has left for them. the ironic thing though was that i was so excited for them to come down, that i woke up about every 1/2 hour during the night as i slept on the couch because i wanted to make sure that i didn't miss a single thing. in the end, i was up at 6:00am waiting for them and they didn't come down until 7:00. (apparently, my dad got caught up in it too. he was up at 5:45.)
of course the moment came... the children came down. Nolan saw his Nintendo DS and literally fell over with excitment. (just as i did at his age, he quickly disregarded any clothing gifts without even so much as a glance.) Sophie was elated about her rollerblades and her (somewhat creepy) doll whos hair and makeup she can do over and over with the included accessories. and Ella... well, she was so caught up in the excitment of the day that it didn't really matter what she got. seeing her dolls and her Little People Castle with the drawbridge action and the trumpet sounds just added to it. and when she saw the ballerina outfit... well, let's just say she went from pajamas to naked to ballerina in about 24 seconds.
i had more fun just taking pictures and sitting back and watching them tear through it all than i think i ever had being on the receiving end when i was a kid.
when i was little, i remember thinking how boring it must be for parents on Christmas Day. they don't get much (besides clothes and house stuff that nobody wants). they just get to watch the kids get all the good stuff. my perspective has changed a bit over the past 20 years. parents are lucky... i think they actually get the better end of the deal. i can't wait until i get to have Christmas with my own kids.
the rest of Christmas was a little more normal. the family came. we had way too much food. i ate way to much of the food. and, of course there was the inherent sadness of it being the first holiday in several years without Stacy. but, all-in-all... being able to focus on the kids made up for (or at least distracted me from) the things that were missing.
anyway, i hope your Christmas was as good (or better) than mine and that you were able to feel as blessed as i was.
matt
ps... the "you know... for kids!" in the title of this blog is from a movie called "The Hudsucker Proxy" which is this quirkly, great movie about the invention of the hoola-hoop. check it out if you get the chance.