Our realtor, Jerry Waletzko (who helped us buy this house), phoned the other night to see if we would be home, and the girls awake, that evening. We said yes, and not long afterward, Santa Claus knocked on our front door! The girls were very excited, invited him in, and offered him a cookie and an M-n-M (yes, one). He asked them to refresh his memory: had they visited already, perhaps at a mall or by mail? Yes, they had sent him an on-line "postcard," to which he had already replied; and they had talked to him at the mall. Thus, Santa did not need to ask them again what they wanted for Christmas, although Suzanna reminded him that all she really wanted was a picture of Rudolph. They admitted that they had been a little bit naughty but mostly nice, so he gave them each a shiny red apple from his bag, wished them a merry Christmas, and went on his way.
The girls stood in the doorway waving to him, so although he was headed for the street where vehicles were parked, he changed his mind and walked toward our garage to get out of their eyesight. I helped him out by rushing the girls into Hillary's bedroom (whose windows do not face the street) and huddling them around a window to look up in the sky. They were all certain they heard sleigh bells, and they did indeed see a blinking red light in the sky that they concluded was Santa's sleigh. This was all uncharacteristically trusting of Suzanna, who, the last time Jerry phoned and Santa then visited, observed that Santa was a fraud because he had to move his beard in order to eat a snack, and because he got into a car when he was ready to leave. No doubts this year, though.
This is also the time of year when last year's graduates from our high school return to their alma mater because they're on Christmas break before we are, and it's a good time for them to check in with former teachers and friends who are still in school. I got to see several the other night at the choir concert, and yesterday five stopped by my room to say "hi": Nick Maloney, Dan Kendall, Diana Driscoll, Zach Hennings, and Holly Boushey, pictured here with me at last spring's senior banquet, for which I delivered the address:
And last night, we hosted our friends Cathy and Eddie from The Cities for supper. It was their wedding for which the girls were flower girls in October. They brought way too many gifts for the girls, and we had a great visit over a wonderful supper: roasted chicken, steamed broccoli, roasted herbed potatoes and carrots, and Christmas baking for dessert (all from the kitchen of Susan). They're in the area for only a few days visiting friends and family, so we were fortunate to be able to see them during their rounds. And the girls L-O-V-E them to pieces--and Susan didn't tell them in advance that Cathy and Eddie would be visiting--so they were mucho excited when Cathy and Eddie arrived.
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