Happy New Year's

I hear the scurry of little feet outside my bedroom door. It takes a moment to remember where I am, and then I smile. Of course, I am in the lovely guest room (aka Noah’s room) for my winter vacation in Charleston. I hear giggles and, I hear the little footsteps move quietly down the hall. They had instructions to let me sleep in after a long (and I do mean long!) day of travel. By the way, when the news shows clips of airports and long lines and weather delays, believe them! I think everyone is at the airport…any airport! Finally, after a long-complicated journey, I arrive in Charleston! The older girls have gone off to camp for a few days, and the parents are packed ready to go off to camp themselves…so they say!

Abe and the twins pick me up and whisk me to their lovely house all decorated for Christmas before they drive off into the night leaving me with the twins for a few days. We are, of course, delighted to have to time to ourselves. “Just us and Nannie,” they both chant! As quiet as they are on the first morning, I hear them outside my door. Quietly, I go to open the door to find a small mailbox sitting on the floor full of “Nannie” letters. How long have they been up? I know they are watching from down the hall as I retrieve my mail. The letters are in pencil with precious (yes, I use that word) letters from Faith and Noah. Most of the letters thank me for coming here. Some of the letters have lists of activities for us to do. They are all in some kind of order? They are sneaky little letters knowing the parents are far away, and that I will let them do some of the things they are not allowed to do. The lists are full of movies for us to watch, toys we will play with, games we will play, and all the meals we will make in the three days before everyone returns. They want to eat our meals on the floor as that is quite forbidden! I laugh as I pull out the notes! They come running to me as in The Children’s Hour, and my heart is full.

I make coffee as they help with the morning chores. They know how to help now that they are eight. They feed the cat, plug in the tree, and patiently wait for coffee number two before we have our own private Christmas. No, they do not want to wait for the rest of the family. I pull their gifts out of my suitcase realizing why I really brought nothing but toys! Luckily, I keep a tub of necessities here just for that reason!

We sit around the tree as they open their gifts with much glee. (Yes, the word glee is very appropriate here!) “These are the best presents ever,” they both exclaim! Then they joyfully pull out their hand-made gifts for me wrapped in paper with my name printed in pencil. They cannot contain their happiness as I open an origami black cat bookmark and a purple beaded bracelet. I tell them these are my favorite gifts, and they really are my favorites as they are made with love. A loving gift from a child’s hand will always be my favorite gifts!

We decide to stay in our jammies all day and not clean up any of the messes until an hour before the parents return on New Year’s Day. They are delighted with these rules, and I secretly hope Abe and Kristin do not come home early!! It is our Christmas, and we are going to love each moment of this day!

New Year’s Eve will be celebrated with just the three of us. We have big plans. We are ordering pizza and eating it on the floor, we have noise makers and a cupboard of pots and pans. New Year’s Eve is beautiful here in Charleston with fireworks and we will attempt to stay up until midnight although I might have to trick them a bit! Then again…

It is the week we celebrate the new year. We make our lists of all we want to accomplish. I have a big list, as always. Love tops my list. Love for family. Love for community. Love for the work I get to do. Love.

Happy New Year’s from the three us!