A Christmas Miracle

My prayer was answered -- a shining, bright beacon in the crisp night sky made my heart soar with the spirit of the season…

I’m talking about the red Walgreen’s sign two miles from our home that was open late on Christmas Eve. After a celebration with my side of the family everyone was finally in bed (including Kramer) and it seemed safe for me to play Santa Claus. I was horrified to see the baby travel set I bought Libby weeks ago was in fact a travel set -- doll SOLD SEPARATELY. Actual panic washed over me. All she has talked about is a doll, a friend for her beloved Sunshine (another doll). It was 10:00pm and all I could do was pray the whole way on slippery roads that the drug store was open and had something that would pass for a dolly and maybe even fit in the miniscule baby carrier. I would have paid $1,000.00.

And now we have wee little Baby Beans with us. She was $5.99, she fits beautifully in the plastic infant seat and Libby is just another kid that got her wish on Christmas morning. By that afternoon she was much more interested in her new Care Bear, but that’s okay because Santa delivered.

Fear Factor

Our good bedtime routine has been interrupted by fear. Libby has become very anxious because of what I assume was one bad dream 2 weeks ago. She woke up screaming and spent the rest of that night in our bed and now her lip starts to quiver when we finish the last bedtime story. She gets weepy and says she doesn’t want to have bad dreams. She seems comforted by her dad firmly sending any would be nightmares away and surprisingly she wants her door kept shut – she is reassured that will keep them out. I remind her of her favorite things – how can anything pink and plush ever be scary? But it’s so hard to see her afraid and I find myself lingering by her crib where she should feel perfectly safe.

Fear is a funny thing; I want them to have the so-called healthy fears about jumping off of high things, strangers and eating yummy looking berries off trees but anxiety is another thing and it requires thoughtful tending. The hard part is knowing when to keep it light or really delve in – when to say you can sleep here tonight but this will not become a habit. With Isaac it is trying new things that gets his knees to knocking. But there is hope; we went to a pancake breakfast with Santa and Isaac actually sat on the red clad strangers’ lap. I was so surprised and tried to casually let him know I thought it was great because it was something he wouldn’t have even considered 6 months ago. He said, “I really wanted that candy cane.” I guess we all have to find the candy cane that pushes us past our fears.

Good Company

Isaac has gotten so good at playing on his own or with Libby and I should be thrilled right? Absolutely… but then I have to raise the question: is he spending enough time with children his own age? Does he need a regular playmate? Or is it perfectly appropriate for him to be his own good company? He is in a class of peers at pre-school of course but I don’t know if it counts because it isn’t maybe the best setting for him socially. He is friendly to the kids and talks about them at home but doesn’t get the one-on-one time any good introvert requires.

We went to McDonald’s for lunch with a few of the boys in his class last week on the spur of the moment. He was having such fun with them away from the more structured setting of “academia” (the park and rec version that is). It took a few minutes but I could see him getting caught up in the pure playfulness of it despite himself. It was good to see but made me think I should be having these kids over to play not to mention how since moving to our new house we’re all missing the built in social group our previous neighborhood provided. We are still getting used to making plans where we didn’t have to before. Last summer Isaac’s ears were tuned to the sound of the car doors when the neighbor kids came home and now we have to schedule time with them weeks in advance.

It just seems like he has hit the prime friend-making age; he’s making his way up the complicated and multi-leveled ladder of sharing and his imagination is soaring. He is willing to include his little sister and cousin, I find him looking at books or Highlights magazine in his room, but having a friend over is always a nice way to spend an afternoon. A friend is especially nice with a long winter break coming up and some new Christmas toys coming our way!

Two Of A Kind

I adore Libby and I adore Isaac but I don’t always enjoy Libby-n-Isaac the package deal. When I manage to get one of them alone I am reminded what great things each has to offer – Isaac’s inquisitiveness and Libby’s humor. As it happens I spend more time alone with Libby while Isaac is at school, but we are a threesome most of the time. I have to admit I wish that weren’t the case because we spend a lot of that time working out problems and injustices. I’m not saying it cancels out the things I love about them as individuals, but it clouds my perception.

I don’t think they would agree with me on this one. Despite the bickering and quest to always be first they are each other’s best company. They love being the package deal. I wonder how their relationship will evolve as the years go by and they continue to become themselves. I am in no big hurry for them to grow (except when I am living for it) but I am looking forward to knowing them like one looks forward to a scary movie – I am tingly with anticipation at what’s next, but more inclined to cover my head.

At the end of the day after we have flipped a coin to determine the order for teeth brushing and the stories have been read, I take Libby to her room, tuck her in and sing “the moon song.” Then I go do the exact same thing in Isaac’s room. As much as I hurry through the bedtime routine knowing that freedom is mere moments away I sing the song twice and take that extra couple minutes to have each of them all to myself.