Dear Santa...

If there was one thing I really wanted for Christmas, it was to be a witness that morning when our granddaughters would wake up bright and early and leap from their snug little beds to zip down the stairs and see if Santa had come. Who can forget their own childhood excitement on Christmas morning? Who wants to miss a single moment of that in our descendants? Such a short shelf life and I wasn't too thrilled that Mother Nature wanted to cheat Jeff and me out of it.

It's just a 5.5-hour drive from the northern suburbs of Chicago to the northern suburbs of Des Moines, but in between is a deadly dull stretch of I-88 and I-80 that is noted for ice and snow and white-out conditions on a regular winter basis. Two Christmases ago, we delayed leaving 'til Christmas Eve because of bad weather the day prior, and I counted 115 abandoned trucks and cars, some overturned, in the ditches on the Iowa side of the border. It's a trip that calls for wise decisions.

Christmas 2009: the forecast was for rain, turning to ice and snow on Christmas Eve. I went into work at 6 am for a half day, and had everything ready to be loaded into the car if the weather allowed us a window of opportunity. Scott called and told me it was just raining in Des Moines and it wasn't expected to snow 'til late afternoon, so if we were coming, leave now. I made it home in record time, and we had the car loaded and on the road by 11 am. It rained nearly all the way and, from portal to portal, the temperature hovered between 33° and 35°, without ever dipping down to 32°. One degree away from a skating rink. Thank you, Santa.

We had our white Christmas in Des Moines, later that evening, as the snow began to fall hours after we had arrived. We were excited. The girls were excited. Lucy, their dog, was excited. Christmas Eve, Chloe left a very thoughtful letter for Santa, along with cookies and milk. She and Livy left their shoes on the fireplace hearth for Santa to fill with candy, as the Elf on the Shelf watched over them. They had their baths and opened their new Christmas pajamas, as is their yearly tradition, and then it was time for a story and goodnight kisses. It's the one night of the year they're eager to go to sleep. It just makes Santa come faster!

With the kids asleep, we adults played games, ate too many cookies, watched a movie and then went to bed so Santa could finally arrive. Christmas morning was straight out of "A Christmas Story":

Wow! Santa came.
He ate the cookies and left a note!
Oh, boy.
Mom! Dad! Look at this!
An American Girl doll!
It was just what I wanted!

I felt great. Bad knee still, but who cared. I got everything I wanted, except for, well, you know...world peace.