Tis the Season...Atleast I think so..

First, I want to take a second to say the last few weeks have been trying to say the least, but I have realized the strength of family and friends can overcome the worst hurt. I am forever thankful for the people in my life. Thanks to everyone that pushed me forward and continue to do so. I also want people that are having a hard go at it lately that I am also thinking of them and wish only the best. I would like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

This time of year, adults tend to miss the little things that make this time of year so special. Like most of us, I was cursing the snow while shoveling the driveway this week. When did I start hating the snow? Maybe when I became a homeowner or had to travel some distance to work? The first snow fall was so exciting to me as a kid. I remember that smokey cold air that seemed to roll in hours before the first flakes. While watching the news last week prior to the snow fall, I mentioned to Jenn that it was forecasted. Lily got so excited and I probably made some remark about how much of a PIA the snow was. I wish I could redo that moment again and justify her excitement. Next storm, I promise myself that I will get excited with her and hope for enough to go outside and play again. I want to teach her to not let go of that kid she is now when she is my age and when she has children of her own.

I recently wrote about the Elf on a Shelf being a leverage tool. I think I was wrong. Lily looks for "Elfie" every morning as if she is trying to find a friend. She gets excited when she does find her and actually talks to her sometimes as if she was real. She says goodnight to her and next week, it will be hard for her to say goodbye for another year. The belief that she goes back and reports to sant on her behavior is real. It's her personal link to Santa. That certainly doesn't sound like a leverage tool. It sounds like a little girl believing in something magical.

We all complain about shopping for family and friends and want to get it done a quickly as possible. Get in and get out! When we get home, the thought of wrapping everything creates more anxiety. This week, Lily's school had a small store for the kids to bring in some money and pick out little gifts for their family's. I remember doing this when I was her age as well. It was probably the thing I looked forward to the most this time of year. She brought the gift home and ran to the office, closed the door and began trying to wrap her hand picked gifts herself. I could hear her humming Christmas tunes and at the same time getting frustrated with the tape and bows. She carried the wrapped gifts out of that room and placed them under the tree all by herself. The look of accomplishment and seeing how proud she was of herself made my day. I got to see a few of the things she purchased for family members and I could see why she picked them for that specific person. In her mind, she saw the person she was shopping for in the gift. It's not what the gift is, but the reason she picked it for them that will make it a keepsake.

When did we start seeing the holiday season as a burden? What year did the magic disappear for me or yourself? I think the best gift we can give our children this time of year is to justify their excitement and go with it. Don't let age or holiday responsibilities ruin it for them or yourself. Take the time to enjoy the things you work so hard on to prepare. Make memories that your kids can tell their own someday. Give them the ability to see that Christmas time means to you exactly what it means to them for years to come. Merry Christmas to you and yours.

The Leverage of the Holidays...

During this time of year, parents usually struggle with the holiday season with the grace of a Bull in a China shop. I watch and hear the parents at school talking about the never ending battle of Christmas shopping and special events along with their children's regular weekly routines. I want to yell "STOP!". You are the parent and especially this time of year, YOU have the leverage on all things kids!

My routine is probably no different from many of yours. If I'm working, I'm out the door before anyone else is up, but if I'm off for the day, get up, kid dressed, breakfast, kid to school and then on to my day. During the summer time, everything pretty much stays the same except the school thing. Between sports, Girl Scouts and a few other things during the week, we are a very normal family. We always try to eat dinner together and talk about our days followed by homework, child in the shower time, PJ's then a bit of down time, watching part of a movie or playing a game followed by kid to bed and the cycle starts all over again in the Morning. But......

What we forget sometimes this time of year is the power we hold! We are the Zeus's of this month! The little Elf on a Shelf thing I so detest is only one of our many thunderbolts. My six year old will freeze at any mention of a bad report to "Santa" during a tantrum or mischievous activity. The mention of the direct line I have to "Santa" and the weekly phone session we hold together works like a charm. I can only believe that there is never so many behaving children as there is in December.

There is a darker side to these thunderbolts of leverage. Let me explain what I mean exactly. There may come a time when the leverage is challenged. The Elf returning back to "Santa" is questioned, or even the possibility of having "Santa's" phone number is brought up. "Santa will bring me gifts even if I act like a crumb!" is yelled in your face. Step back my friends and look at your opponent dead in their little eyes and calmly say the following, "Do you really want to challenge what i'm telling you?". Also, have a friend on speed dial. Even change their name in your phone for the season to "Santa", but make sure they know a call may come that you refer to them as "Santa" when they answer hello. If this simple step isn't done, third party 911 could be initiated and the whole damn plan goes to crap! Have your friend talk for a minute to your youngster in there best "sant" or even "Mrs. Santa's" voice. When it comes to the Elf on the Shelf thing, maybe the Elf skips a day but leaves a note saying they needed a day to rest after such a hard day of overseeing bad behavior. It's okay folks, putting the screws to a child because of bad behavior this time of year doesn't make you a bad parent, it makes you an innovator!

I love my daughter more than words could express, but there are days she knows what button to press from January to November. When it comes to number 12 on the calendar, We the parents have the power! We all know the big secret when it comes to Christmas morning. no matter what our kids put us though during the year, we love them and there will always be presents under the tree from the big guy.

Special Note (Small Print): If you decide to try one of my Thunderbolts and it doesn't work to your satisfaction, your innovation skills are sub-par and I will in no way be blamed for your failures!

As always, Happy Holidays. Enjoy your time with friends and family and stay Alpha in your household!

So it's Christmas time again!...

Well let me first start by saying Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah and Happy Kwanzaa to everyone out there. I guess a simple "Happy Holidays" would suffice but sometimes enjoy being long winded.

My morning started out very normal. I was woken up by the calls of the "Queen Bee", otherwise known as Lily asking to get up from bed and come downstairs. She still does not get the concept of being able to get up whenever she wants (A normal time), come downstairs put the TV on and watch some cartoons until Jenn or myself rise and shine ourselves. But anyway, I got up and walked to the stairs yelling up my morning cadence, "Come on down Kiddo!". This is where things got interesting. Instead of the usual "Okay!" yelled back and the sound of feet hitting the floor, I got "It's December! Is Elfie here?" (Elfie is our Elf on the Shelf). For people that are wondering what that is, a few years back someone came up with this ingenious idea to mass produce an elf looking doll and tell parents to hide it around the house for the month of December. The children of the house run around trying to find it in the morning. The catch is, it can never be touched and every night he or she reports back Santa on the child's behavior for the day. Well, guess who forgot what day it was and wasn't sure of "elfie's exact location in the basement closet. If you guessed Jenn, then you are correct! What a slacker!..Okay, it was me. Jenn mentioned it to me yesterday and I said I would handle it. I did not handle it. Well, with some quick and thinking, I came up with a really bad answer to yell back up to Lily. "Ohh She must have forgot to check her calendar, and I'm sure she is on the way for tomorrow morning!" In return I get Silence. No feet hitting the floor, No "Okay!", nothing but silence. What do I do now. Well for one thing, I'm not going to lie, a bit of panic set in knowing she has waited all year for this day.

Yup, I take off for the basement closet! I'm working hard at rehab and had to take every stair with caution, but I did really good with not going ass over tea kettle. I get to the closet and the digging begins. I still haven't heard the sound of feet so time is still on my side. Boxes, gift bags, wrapping paper and Found!...Elfie and the unbelievable secure box he was purchased in! I never knew Brinks home security was a sub division of "Elf on a Shelf". Did I hear something? No, not yet! I still have to find the combination for Elfie and get back up the stairs! Screw it, I devastate the box and grab the doll. yup, I was right..footsteps coming down from the second floor. Closing my eyes, I basically levitate up the stairs, pull the bracelet of my arm that Lily so lovingly made me, put it on "Elfies" head and throw the damn thing on top of the pendulum clock immediately hanging on the wall to the right of the stairs. Around the corner comes a very pissed off 6 year old with hair sticking up like one of those trolls on top of a pencil. I am standing there taking a pose probably looking like someone who just levitated up a flight of stairs with a doll.
She walks by me without a word and sittis in the living room couch facing the clock on the wall. The face she was wearing was one of disgust looking through the man that promised an Elf would be here on December 1st,2013.

About 10 minutes pass and still not a word from the disappointed six year old. Then it happened. Eyes as wide as saucers and a smile that lit up the eastern seaboard. "ELFIE!!!, Dad, Elfie is here and you didn't see him?! Dad, you're so silly saying Elfie was not going to be here until tomorrow! I knew he was coming on time! He even has your bracelet on his head? You should really keep it on your arm because I made it for you! Funny Elfie!"

Yup, that silly Elfie making me looking like a "Father of the Year" nominee in my kid's eyes..LOL! Well anyway, disaster diverted, a little sweat (nothing new) and no injuries in the process besides a broken "Elf on the Shelf" Titanium lockbox. Christmas time begins and I'm going to go put my Chicago Blackhawks jersey on for the day. I wonder if Jenn has checked the Shitters lately?


"Well I'm gonna park the cars and get check the luggage, and well, I'll be outside for the season." C.G.