We took down the Christmas tree yesterday, and while I was happy to take it to its final resting place next to the trashcans in the alley, I was a little misty-eyed when my husband put these ornaments away. These ornaments are the kinds of things that just warm my sorta corny, sorta sweet Chicken Soup for the Soul heart. I hope I have them forever. I hope when I am an old lady I get to sit in the dark soaking in the sight of the lighted tree, my babies' handprints and footprints all through the branches. I loved making these ornaments with my friend, Gina, without whom I probably wouldn't have them. It's always nice when you suggest to a friend that you get your kids together to make a craft and then that friend basically ends up doing all the work (the next one's on me, Gina, I promise!).
Activities like making no-brainer ornaments make me remember that it is indeed true when people say having a second kid makes everything exponentially more complicated. You wouldn't think mixing some flour, salt, water and food coloring together, then smushing it into a pancake into which you press a kid's hand or a baby's foot would be that big of a deal. Or an all day affair. Until you take into consideration that I had an easier time with Calculus than I do figuring out how to get a few minutes to myself in the bathroom some days.
Yet, somehow, when you get a gaggle of kids together in a room with a couple of moms, amazing things can transpire. Like actually taking a task from beginning to end on the same day. And capturing the tiny foot of a baby and a hand of a boy who, though they seem they'll be little forever and I'll never get a damn thing done as long as I live, will be grown and out of the house all too soon, leaving me with plenty of time on my hands to recall--and miss--the good ol' days.
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