And Then, A Tree Appeared in My Living Room

I have friends who do not have children. For one reason or another, it is their chosen path. For that matter, I also have single friends who are very happily single. And trust me, when I say, there are those days that I think, “Oh! I wonder what Girlfriend’s doing right now? I bet she’s not home wiping jello from her dining room windows.”


And then there are the other days. Such as...in an airport , 18 hours travel in and 6 hours to go, amid a showing of anxious and weary passengers, Cutiepie climbs into my lap hooking her plump hands around my neck, pulling us face to face, and with volume control that is nonexistent, says, “Mommy, I’m in love with you.”


Or the morning we needed to bring boxes down from the attic. Confident and informing, Babydoll orchestrated the task. “Mommy, you will have to go up into the attic.” Cutiepie chimes in, “Yeah, cause the hole is small and Daddy is too wide to fit.” At which time Babydoll clarifies, “You know, wide is just a nice word for fat.”


Or like today, when I came home late from meetings and exhausted to the bone. I was greeted by my enthusiastic daughters. “Mommy, mommy!” “Guess what!” “You’ll never guess!” The excitement was bursting through the house.
Finally, Babydoll spilled. “Daddy’s making dinner!!” “Really! He is!”


And then like that, I realized there’s a tree in my living room. Christmas has arrived.