Christmas at Granny's House

We were not yet on the highway when Justin asked "Are we almost there yet?" That was a certain sign that the trip down might not be as smooth as hoped. The kids have been learning about hours and minutes, but don't quite have a handle on them yet. We were barely into the trip when both kids whined to us "It's taking 4 hours!", which was ironically correct.

Granny prepared Lasagna which was ready shortly after our arrival. The kids readily destroyed their portions, and we followed suit. Grandparents, grandchildren, and Aunt Sara were anxious to commence with the present exchange, so we wasted little time. Naturally, all eyes were on the kids as they tore into their presents.

Norah happily opened several new dolls and princesses. There were big princesses, little princesses, bubble dispensing princesses, you name it. Some of her favorites included Ariel and Belle and several accessory outfits for them, and a half dozen little dolls which she contentedly rearranged for the remainder of the weekend. Once the dolls were fully freed of their cardboard cages, Norah followed her familiar routine. She grabbed each doll to inspect it, stripped it naked, and re-dressed in a new change of clothes. Then she quietly assessed the new outfits and carefully re-allocated outfits according to the whim of her discerning eye. Eventually this process ended as usual, with an awkward stack of naked dolls and clothes strewn everywhere. Norah's happy and quiet manner contrasted with Justin's manic exuberance.

Justin was very pleased with all his presents, but the grand finale put him over the moon. His heart has been set on a "green glowing light saber that glows in the dark, and a red one for Dad". For the past several months he's been obsessed with the desire to reenact the battle scenes between Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader.

Finally at the end of the evening, we witnessed a beautiful scene reminiscent of the "Red Rider BB Gun" presentation at the end of the holiday classic "A Christmas Story." Granny handed Justin an oblong box with his name on it. We really don't think he knew what it was despite the shape. His eyes lit up as he tore off the paper and saw that it was a light saber, and his face glowed red as he pushed the button for the first time, and screamed "A RED LIGHT SABER!" There was no doubt he was ecstatic, but you could barely detect a tinge of disappointment that this was the weapon of a Sith, and not the green light saber of a black clad Luke Skywalker, Jedi knight. After letting it sink in for a moment, Granny produced another oblong box and Justin was filled with a new hope. The paper was removed with pure glee, and this time his face glowed green as the button was pushed. Only a few twist ties and some tape stood in the way of his ultimate dream scenario and he impatiently urged us to hasten the removal of the packaging.

Once both beautifully elegant weapons were free of their packaging and engaged, Justin lunged into action in what was to be the first of many glowing light saber duels. His imagination quickly turned the upstairs catwalk over the foyer into the bridge shown in the final showdown in "Return of the Jedi". He turned off the lights for effect and mimicked the scenes with surprising accuracy.

It's a rare privilege to see someone glow with the joy of getting exactly what they want.