A NEW TRADITION

Every year Santa sneaks into our house each night of December and leaves a note for Ella and Oli with a family task to be done the following day….so fun you say….yup it was until some brilliant mother of the year decided every note should rhyme and also leave a reminder on being good…said mother’s husband was out of town most of the time and between, music, dance, school, yoga, laundry, baths, Christmas shopping and all other motherly duties was having a very hard time finding the 20 min to sit at the blank computer thinking up a rhyme and good life lesson, sneaking it into the envelope and leaving it for the kids to find in the morning…not to mention trying to squeeze in said activity.  This year I broke the news, I had written a letter to Santa, as he is unable to do such an activity for all children I had decided that it was time to let some other children have a turn doing family tasks.  Utter devastation hit Ella, how could I ruin her favorite thing about Christmas??? This from the girl who only a week earlier had told Grampa Robertson to grab a snack because it was going to be a long one when he asked what she was wishing for this year, yes dear Ella I am sure your favorite part of Christmas is the letters! Regardless I felt bad and wanted to do something to replace this fun tradition.  Enter Elf on the Shelf!  I had to find one, however, so did every other mother in Calgary.  After calling every single Chapters in the city I finally found 2 at Chapters on 16th Ave!  I hang up excited to get there and think ‘hmmm I should have told them to hold it for me” yes, yes I should have! I run into the store, looking around like a mad woman and say  ’ I need an Elf on a Shelf!’ ‘sorry Ma’am the only two we have are on hold in the last couple min’ ‘ are you freaking kidding me!’ comes rolling out of my mouth before I can even stop myself one because he called me Ma’am and two because it looked slim that I was leaving with the Elf.  The salesman looks taken aback and then over at his co-worker and that is when I smile and start to beg.  Yes I am horrible person, and I pray the lady it was being held for is not reading this blog!  I ran out of the store and to my car as fast as I possibly could being extra careful so as not to slip on the ice, heaven knows I didn’t want that lady to see me running off with her Elf let alone slip on the ice and be in a vulnerable position for a good beating and Elf stealing.

Guilt engulfed me the entire day, afterall this is the season of giving not stealing out from under the nose!  But when the doorbell rang and Oli found the box on the steps with a not from Santa and the excitement that took over our house it was all worth it and I am positive I am not the only Mom who has sweet talked / basically stolen her way into something to put a big bright smile on her kids faces…now I am off to write the letter of praise to the head of Chapters that I promised the salesman I would write as soon as I got home about his outstanding help and friendly demeanor.