Trares
The big day is so close to being here.
And yet, in the world of an 8-year-old, so far away.
Anthony keeps asking us how many days until Christmas. We’ve counted down on his Advent calendars and figured out exactly when Santa Claus will be sliding down our proverbial chimney.
On one hand, nine short days seems like nothing at all. After all, December seems to have flown by, filled with festive events and get-togethers that have made the first half of the month disappear more quickly than St. Nick up the chimney.
We hosted our annual Christmas cookie party earlier in December. Friends and family packed into our house for a night of festive fun. The kids sat at a long table, carefully slathering sugar cookies in the shape of snowmen, stars, trees and stockings with frosting in all kinds of colors. There were sugar sprinkles, cinnamon imperials and more to decorate each one, and the kids got to pack them in a to-go box for home — they ones they didn’t cram into their mouths first, of course.
While the children were hard at work, the adults stood around drinking grown-up hot chocolate and nibbling on a tree-shaped charcuterie. Carols played in the background. It truly got the holidays off to a joyous start.
We kept Anthony busy, with the subsequent weekend including a movie night, sleepover and pizza party with his buddy. So it’s not like the Grinch is keeping away all the holiday spirit.
But the anticipation is getting to him.
We’ve tried to preach patience, telling him that Santa is watching, but it’s hard. It doesn’t help that he has a full week of school ahead of him — his school has decided to push winter break until after this coming Friday. It seems strange to me to have Christmas-crazed kids sitting in the classroom on Dec. 22, but we’ve explained that it’s the schools decision, and we have to respect it.
Luckily, Anthony gets a bit of a holiday preview this weekend. We’re headed to Ohio to celebrate Christmas with the Trares side of the family. A whirlwind couple of days will include stops in Toledo, Sandusky and Cleveland, seeing family and hopefully a few friends for good food, a Great Lakes Brewing Christmas Ale and, yes, some presents to open too.
There will be big laughs and big meals — a Christmas tradition with our side of the family.
And sure, Anthony has to come back to Indiana for five more days of school. It’s hard enough for me, as a grown-up, to downshift from holiday fun to focus back on work. His second-grade brain is going to take it hard.
But there’s a couple hundred lights at the end of the tunnel. Dec. 25 will be here before we know it, and with it, a full-blown Christmas extravaganza.
I just hope Santa appreciates Anthony’s hard-earned patience.
Ryan Trares is a senior reporter and columnist for the Daily Journal. Send comments to [email protected].
