“You know how I know it’s Christmas-time? That list you’re making.”
One of the childhood traditions I remember as making Christmas-time wondrous and exciting (you know, back when Christmas didn’t involve crushing hordes of suburban cannibals and heathens, every last retail item rewarded with “Christmasization” and having your ears vigorously punched with every known musical variation of three “faith neutral” Christmas songs) were the extensive “want” lists I’d whip out for Mom, Dad and Santa.
Not that it was all carefree and easy. This was serious business. I had to troll the Sunday paper and holiday catalogs, making detailed lists that not only included writing and lovingly hand drawn illustrations, but also carefully cutting out the good stuff and gluing it to paper. Not to mention the complicated “If/Then” scenarios: “If” I don’t get the AT-AT, “then” I’ll be equally thrilled with the AT-ST! This wasn’t just a list- this was a season long project laid out in phases.
Of course now… not so much enthusiasm.
On Sunday, however, my cold and jaded heart was warmed with some of that same enthusiasm as we found Joshua stepping into childhood tradition. As pretext, because he’d been great about not wetting the bed, we’d promised Joshua a Star Wars guy. While we were out a couple days ago, we hit up Kohl’s. As we cruised the store, we ran across a wall of Transformers and Star Wars toys. Joshua was awestruck (WHOAH!!!), telling Mari-Catherine “This is all on my list”. Without hesitation, he giddily picked a “droid” character which came with a little fold out catalog that, for Joshua, was almost as cool as the toy.
A day or so later, after holding up the fold-out and asking, “Papa, can I cut this?” Joshua matter-of-factly asked for paper, pulled “his scissors and glue” out of the drawer and began an intense focus on his procedural work of cut, glue, paste while hunkered over the kitchen table. I’m sure most parents know the feeling when they see their kids doing something similar and instantly remembering the innocent clarity of their own childhood. I think the term to describe it is “SO Freakin’ cute!!”
