Returning a Christmas Gift

Hi Santa, I’m sorry, but I’d like to send this back.

Yes, I know we had asked for a Christmas break again this year, but this wasn’t quite what we had in mind.

You see, everyone got sick at different times—and the illnesses just kept coming. It was like counting birds in that Christmas carol…two trips to doctors, seven pharmacy visits, three medications to track down, and a partridge in a pear tree. Everyone knows that bubble-gum-flavored medicine is the worst, but beggars can’t be choosers, and somehow antibiotics are harder to find than Death Star Lego sets.

Don’t even ask how many tissues we went through. Talk about a white Christmas! You should have seen the piles.

Luckily, we fit in time together and even managed to see some of our relatives in between illnesses. That was a Christmas miracle.

The kids liked that the rules went out the window, and they could eat dinner in front of the TV. And, of course, everyone recovered in the end, and we’ll hold onto the fun memories, the way you always do.

The optimists in our lives say, “Good thing you got all the sickness out of the way.” Let’s hope that’s true.

The pessimists say, “Sick in the fall, sick all winter.” I might need to cross some of them off the Christmas card list.

Anyway, thank you for the Christmas break, even if it wasn’t what we had in mind. I did manage to do some Netflix watching, and I’m all caught up on The Crown.

Now that I think of it, it’s probably too late for you to take this gift back. We’ll just wait for next year’s break and try again.

Stay healthy, stock up on your vitamins, and give Rudolph our best.

P.S. If you’re looking for ideas for stocking stuffers next year, the kids like Twix and Starburst, but I think most of the parents would be delighted to find children’s Motrin. Maybe the elves could whip up a bit of that at the North Pole.

Photo by Karolina Grabowska

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