B'eaming From Ear To Ear

"Let's go see Santa!"

Beatrice and Bryce were thrilled to bits to go see Santa this weekend. They didn't have long lists, but they did have their burning single requests ready to singe Santa's fluffy beard.

We arrived at Marini's Candies in downtown Santa Cruz, where Santa has had a regular gig for many years, and the girls lit up like Christmas stars. They immediately found themselves on each of his knees, smiles beaming from ear to ear.

And what made Santa beam ear to ear? When we told him we were just at an assisted care facility, one of the ones my wife works at delivering physical therapy, where we helped share a little Christmas cheer with the mostly older women patients suffering from varying degrees of dementia.

But that was the Mama and Daddy sharing proudly. What the girls really wanted to tell Santa was what they wanted for Christmas.

"That's a very nice thing you did today, girls," said Santa. "The nice things you do helps me do my job and give back to children all over the world."

The girls kept smiling; Bea looked a little nervous while Bryce was giddy with delight. We took pictures and encouraged them both.

"So, what would you like this year?" Santa asked Beatrice.

"Um...a Chuggington train for my tracks," Bea answered.

"And what would you like?" Santa asked Bryce.

"A space station!"

Santa laughed.

Right on, Girls. B movers and shakers. Always.

The Blech with the Blessings Year Round

"I'm so excited for Christmas! I'm so excited for Christmas! I'm so excited for Christmas!"

Exclaimed Beatrice, excitedly.

"Me too!"

Echoed Bryce, excitedly.

And so it goes with our little girls at the holiday helm. The Christmastime magic is upon us, like a warm blanket on a cold winter's morn. We've actually had our share of frigid mornings recently here in Santa Cruz, with a cold snap leaving our cheeks and bums a chapped cherry red.

Just like ol' Kris Kringle, who the girls got to see this weekend at the downtown Christmas parade.  Santa rode by in his white carriage, pulled by two gorgeous steeds.

"Look, here comes Santa!" exclaimed the Mama and Daddy, excitedly. The girls bounced in place.

"Is that Santa's deer?" asked Beatrice as Santa approached.

"Reindeer? No, those are horses."

"Oh, yes," Bea said, and then laughed.

And there was 50% off giant candy! (See if you catch that one.)

Although, there is the little issue of not sleeping for Bryce, or more accurately, waking up at 3:00 am seemingly every other night, which we're told has more to do with neurological development than holiday magic. Bryce tip toes into our room and sits at the foot of the bed, talking just loud enough to herself for one of us to wake up and hear, and then she takes forever to get back to sleep. This happened with Bea, too.

Blech. Sleep deprivation just so happens to be an serial rite of parental passage from child to child. Bea wasn't so bad, but Bryce from 6-18 months about drove us both bonkers, awake nearly every hour and every night for months and months.

However, you take the belch with the blessings year round with kids. And there are certainly plenty of B's in our blessings around here.

This is why I'm thankful: my angelic muses carry with them a special kind of perpetual Christmastime magic.

And so does Daddy. Amen.

"I am grateful for what I am and have. My thanksgiving is perpetual. It is surprising how contented one can be with nothing definite -- only a sense of existence." 

--Henry David Thoreau