This weekend we decided to take the boys to Medford to visit the "mall" Santa. We took them to see Santa in Etna two weekends ago and that was quite fun. Carter was so giddy standing in line and Miles didn't cry once. All of the local businesses were open and were providing holiday treats. The bank was passing out popcorn and Carter took his from Virginia, then all on his own, turned around and dramatically yelled "Merry Christmas!". It truly warmed your heart to see the boys so happy experiencing a little "hometown" Christmas Cheer. Well, we should have left it at that and totally skipped the "big-town"Christmas.
We knew we were in for trouble when we arrived at the mall to find the line to see Santa was so long that Mall Security was involved. While Bradley took Carter to the bathroom to kill time, I used my communication degree skills to promptly people watch. While observing my counterparts, I also was presented with a price-list for ways to commemorate our trip to see the jolly man. Before I even looked at prices I was aware of the bold letters prohibiting no outside photography. After a few calculations I realized that the only way we would be able to show our kids that we did indeed care enough to put them through this hell, it was going to cost us about $25 bucks. Good thing the line was long enough so that I was able to process these emotions. As we got closer to Santa, Carter was able to see the stuffed animals. At least this year he wasn't running around trying to shoot the big bucks.
While we were within five feet of Santa, Carter (who had been an absolute angel) almost had a meltdown because the autistic child in front of us kept trying to touch him. Carter was okay for the first few minutes, but soon felt his bubble being violated. I appreciate teaching my child about diversity and boundaries, but this kid was a little too much. (He and his three siblings). Anywho, we get up to Santa and he is able to easily get Carter on his lap, but Miles is pretty reluctant. In an effort to make everything okay, the dirty old man offers his lap to me. I promptly decided to sit off to the side, and Miles was happy.
The pictures turned out fine (for 25 bucks they better), except for the fact that I realized I had dressed Miles in shorts instead of pants. Insert Mother of the Year Award here. I guess seeing Santa is all part of the magic of Christmas, but I think next year we will visit Santa and Etna and call it good. We'll leave with our pockets fuller, our children happier, and our boundaries less violated.
In addition to making sure we fill our kids' minds with the commercialism of Christmas, we also made sure to touch on the true meaning of Christmas and the Christmas Story. Carter played an angel in the Christmas pageant (he was so good last year, they asked him to make another cameo appearance), but this year he was upstaged by his younger brother who played baby Jesus. Jesus didn't care much for Mary, and Carter got pissed at another angel who wanted to play with his toys, but I doubt that Mary and Joseph really had that swell of a night in a manger in the freezing cold anyways right?
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