Christmas tactical error #1

Made my first serious tactical error of the holiday season, and it seemed only fitting I share it with you!

As I posted, today was the kids’ Christmas party at work. There were movies in the board room, junk foods of every description, colouring books and treats and a posse of very excited children. I have to laugh about what Tristan will be picturing in his mind from now on when I tell him I’m going off to ‘work’, that land of endless sugary treats and cartoons.

Simon seemed to like the water fountain (“waterfall”, he called it) the best. That, and the elevator buttons. And exploring the cube farm.

Santa came, but apparently Santa’s helper elf didn’t think through his gifts very carefully. Santa brought Simon the Wiggles Big Red Car flashlight, which has, for the record, the most difficult-to-open packaging I’ve encountered in nearly four years of excessive presents. Simon loved this gift with an exhuberance that surprised all of us.

Santa brought for Tristan a very cool I Spy book, because Tristan loves to play I Spy lately, and Santa’s elf knew he would like something like that. What Santa’s elf didn’t think of was the relative playability of a book, no matter what the subject, versus a singing car-shaped flashlight. So, for five hours we have been battling over whose turn it is to play with the Big Red Car. Currently, Simon is upstairs sleeping with it in his crib, because he would sooner part with his hair than release it from his sweaty little grasp. Getting an almost two-year-old to share is difficult on the best of days; getting an almost two-year-old to share what has instantly become his most prized possession is turning into a Herculean feat of mothering.

If only Santa’s elf had had the foresight to send along one of the five dozen Thomas the Tank Engine related toys that will be making an appearance some time in the next 48 hours. Chalk it up to another parenting lesson learned the hard way!

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