Quotable Christmas, Part 2: "Don't buy me any Christmas presents!"

We started packing up the decorations and taking down the tree on January 1, but I still have storage boxes sitting around in the living room (driving Jeff crazy) and guest bedroom. There are still a few things left to sort through and put away, and I'm hoping to get that done sometime tomorrow. I am still working on my "Christmas Resolutions," but I really don't need the decorations and boxes lying about to help me in that pursuit.

I'm sure I will think of more after I post this, but I thought I'd share another Christmas quote. About two weeks before Christmas, we got a package in the mail from Jeff's grandmother, and Caroline was so excited to see a few wrapped presents with her name on them inside the box. When I told her to go put them under the tree, she happily did so. But then she asked, "Can I open them now?" When I told her she would have to wait until Christmas, she was extremely disappointed. "Why can't I open them now?/How many days until it's Christmas?/ That's soooo long [her voice getting shakier]. I can't wait that long [shoulders sagging, almost crying]!"

A week later another package came, this time from my Aunt Karen. We opened the box and found another wrapped gift with her name on it! "Can I open it?" she asked eagerly. "No, go put it under the tree--it's for Christmas," I told her.

She could hardly bear the news. She did what I asked, but walked towards the tree carrying the gift as if it weighed 50 pounds and her arms couldn't support it. Shoulders again sagging, this time she actually did begin to cry and asked me, "Why does everybody keep sending me Christmas gifts?"

The following weekend, Jeff and I arranged for a babysitter to come over while we went out together and had a shopping date. Caroline was already excited about Katie (one of her favorite teenagers ever) coming to visit, but just to add to this excitement, I explained to her that she was going to stay home with Katie while we went out and that the reason she couldn't come along was because we were going to buy her some presents!

After Katie arrived and we had talked for a minute, she started down the hall and said, "Caroline, come show me your room." I gave Caroline a last-minute hug and told her to be good. She squeezed me back and as we were leaving called out cheerfully, "Don't buy me any Christmas presents!"