Monday, January 6, 2014

Johnny Letter #22

Dearest Johnny,

I wanted to take this opportunity to recap your 5th and so far, most awesome Christmas while it was still fresh in my mind.

Let me begin by explaining the time leading up to Christmas.  Mommy's life erupted with some confusion that resulted in pimples, nails bitten back to the quick, and a lack of ability to concentrate on the simplest tasks -but that's another story altogether.  Suffice to say, Mommy wasn't quite up to snuff in her focus on Christmas and planning this year.

Also shortly before Christmas, Daddy was sitting at the table with you coaxing you to eat dinner, the same as one or both of us does tediously every night of your life, when you urped on your plate.  How was he to know this night's resistance to food was significantly different than any other night of the week or year?  You detest letting anything that is not a fruit snack or a chocolate candy pass your lips, so how was he to know you had a real deal aversion to food that night?  This was the beginning of a stretch of The Plague that started with you, ran its course through (and when I say "ran through" I mean RAN THROUGH) our bodies one by one.

But it was a brief, albeit highly disturbing, plague and it didn't stop us for too long from enjoying Christmas festivities.  Although maybe it should have, because we left a wake of (no kidding) at least 30 bodies behind us.  People dropped like flies after having been in our midst for more than 30 seconds.  Sorry, Lawrence.  Sorry, Cheney.  Sorry, Kansas City, El Dorado, and Dallas, Texas.  Sorry, sorry, sorry about that!!

But still, even with The Sickness and The Stress, it was The Best Christmas Ever.  I am not even kidding.

Because of you.  Because you LOVED IT ALL SO VERY MUCH AND TOLD US EVERY TEN SECONDS HOW MUCH YOU LOVE CHRISTMAS AND US AND SANTA AND OH MY LIGHTS AND CANDY AND OHHHHH THE DECORATIONS AND THE PARTIES AND LOOK AT THIS MAMA ITS A CANDY CANE!!!??!!!!

You wrote your letter to Santa with a little help from yours truly, and you delivered it at the post office. Only little did Mama know that the post office isn't really open at the wee hour of the morning that we went to drop the letter in a special North Pole slot.  But a nice postal employee saw what we were trying to do and unlocked the door just for you to go deliver your list to The Big Guy.  It really almost brought a tear to my eye.

We went downtown for a little music and to watch Santa be rescued from on top of Weavers Department store and I must say, I kind of got misty eyed that night too, standing across from our town's quaint 159 year old department store, singing Christmas carols with my fellow Lawrencecians while you screamed that SANTA LOOKED AT you! HE DID! HE LOOKED RIGHT AT ME MAMA.


You had the opportunity again this year to have breakfast and a shopping spree with a local police officer because of the awesome Take Our Youth Shopping program at your school.  You got yourself some things and a monkey for Lily and candles for me, and the whole thing nearly killed you with the awesomeness.  You haven't stopped talking about it and NEXT YEAR? NEXT YEAR I AM GOING TO GET A BATMAN WHEN I GO WITH THE POLICE OFFICER.



We went to Sandbar Subs and your sister did us proud by screaming bloody murder at the mere sight of Santa and we did what all self respecting parents do and put her on his lap anyway and took a picture.  You, on the other hand, were cool as a cucumber and whispered your desires right in his ear and were delighted with the bag of sweets he handed you in return.  Santa was surprised to hear that you had changed a want on your list at the last minute and he had to scramble to make sure everything you asked for was under the tree on Christmas morning.  But you got that "Big Spiderman that Does It Webs" and it is truly the best toy ever.



You loved seeing all your grandparents and cousins and asked me for days on end afterward if we were going back and when and what was the next Christmas we were going to have.  You were more than a little sad when we took down the tree and decorations and said goodbye to Christmas until next year. which only made the whole thing sweeter.



I never knew Christmas could be like this.  I've always done okay with holidays and liked the special times of year, but this?  This is unparalleled. Bless your sweetest heart for making our lives so full of wonder and happiness.  What ever would we do without you and your sister?
?





All our love and then some,

Mama and Daddy