Your Morning Routine Toolkit198their dreams are filled with all the wishes they hope to find
under the tree Christmas morning.
But on December 25, 2014, something was different. I
didn’t wake up to the usual flow of children whisper- yelling
in my ear, “Mama! Wake up! It’s Christmas! Get up!” (times
3,982). There was no one sitting on top of me, breathing their
morning breath in my face, eye- begging me to get out of bed.
Instead, I leisurely walked down the hall to find my chil-
dren sitting on the opposite side of the living room from the
Christmas tree and the piles of wish- list dreams come true.
My ten- year- old daughter, Allison, lay on the couch read-
ing a book. Jackson, my seven- year- old, played chess with his
cousin; and my twelve- year- old daughter, Anna, sat cozily on
the couch... crocheting.
Books, chess, and crochet.
I looked at them. And then I looked over at the gifts under
the tree. I looked back at my oblivious children. Back to the
gifts. Back at them.
“Um... Merry Christmas?”
Maybe they forgot?
With an absentmindedness uncommon on this particular
morning of the year, they replied, “Merry Christmas, Mom.”
Incredulous, I teased, “What are you doing? Do you real-
ize what day this is? It’s Christmas!”
I wasn’t ready for them to be so grown up, so patient. I
said, “This isn’t what kids are supposed to do on Christmas
morning. This is what grown- ups do. This is how your dad
and I act. All cool and nonchalant.”
What happened? They were supposed to be begging us to open
presents. They were supposed to be bursting with excitement.