Do you ever have those times where, as hard as you try,
it just ain't gonna go your way?
Let's just say I got close to losing my Mom Card today...
Good Housekeeping might yank away my Seal of Approval....
The morning started well enough...
We trucked to the factory to procure a company Christmas tree...
I drove the company van, aka "Bag of Bolts"
to the Home Depot to snag a $29.99 tree, stand
and some lights...
Back at HEAT, Kate even broke away from her stream of vintage
Pink Panther videos on my computer to help me hang ornaments...
Some of the sparkly things might have to go...
The plan for the rest of the day was to board the CTA's Santa Train,
Ride it to the Loop,
Meet Tom,
Have a cheap meal,
Gaze at the windows of Macy's State Street
and maybe even take in a little
of the Christkindle Market in Daley Plaza....
Yeah...
That didn't happen...
When we returned home from the factory
we had about an hour before heading
to the El train station....
Note to self:
No matter how tired and exhausted you are,
DO NOT take a nap...
I was out like a light and woke with a start
the exact moment the beautiful lighted train
sailed through the Southport stop....
Beat the train, I thought,
as any crazed parent frantically seeking
a way of avoiding child wrath would do...
We sped to the Wellington station,
two stops farther down the line...
Ran into the station
and asked the CTA agent if we had missed it...
Yep...
I confessed to her that I napped too late
and she looked at me
like I kept my kids in cages and fed them rat droppings...
Mother of the Year....
Kate sobbed big, fat hot tears down her rosy little cheeks
as Jack tried to comfort
her heartbroken soul...
Evil, selfish mother!
My mind raced for back up....
Nope...we are broke this week....
Ice Skating?
Nope....It is 55 degrees outside...
Crap..
We headed home and it came to me....
The Zoo Lights at Lincoln Park Zoo!
My suggestion brought a faint smile after a tiny sob...
Maybe Cindy Lou Who would be pacified after all...
While I was making a sumptuous meal of pasta with jar sauce
and frozen fried shrimp....
Only the best from the pantry for my brood....
I did add raw carrots to round out the food pyramid...
An even better scheme crossed my weary brain....
We would attempt to catch the Santa Train
on its homebound journey
and THEN do a double header at the Zoo Lights....
Talk about major backpeddling....
So I let Jack in on the plan to trick Kate into thinking
we were heading to the zoo via train,
when in fact she would be surprised and dazzled
by the Santa Train sailing down the tracks,
headed JUST for her!
Jack is as good at keeping a secret
as I am at doing a back flip,
so he was sorely tested...
he was able to keep the ruse going....
Now, the earlier Santa Train was RIGHT on time,
as it whizzed past us,
creating sorrow and misery...
The Northbound Santa Train, however,
as Mr. Murphy would have it,
was a full FIFTEEN minutes late....
I thought all the kids, waiting on the platform
were going to unite and declare mutiny...
The stationmaster got on the intercom to lamely
apologize for Santa's tardy arrival....
Being that Jack and I were conducting a secret surprise,
Jack clamped his mitted hands over Kate's annoyed ears
and did the "LA LA LA" song so she wouldn't be the wiser.....
FINALLY, the awaited train arrived,
in all its glory, Santa and all...
As we boarded, I could hear Peggy Lee sing
"Is That All There Is",
as Kate wailed that THIS?! was all that constituted the Santa Train.....
of the decorated train car
and then we ran outside at the Addison stop
to wave at Santa...
Next stop was Irving Park...
We jumped off and quickly boarded the next southbound train
back home.....
When Tom got home,
he vainly hoped that the Zoo Lights excursion on the agenda
could be cancelled....
Oh noooo!
Such deprivation of these poor kids!
We sighed, donned outerwear
and headed to Lincoln Park for some Zoo Light revelry....
It started to rain just as we walked up to the Rainbow Arbor....
Did my kids comment once on the splendor of the colored lights?
Of the forests of glorious electric wonder?
No.....
and the other begged for hot chocolate....
Tom's dreams were realized when he discovered
that the hot chocolate bar also sold wine....
dancing with delight that Miller beer was being served...
As the rain pounded harder,
we dashed for the car...
Kids were asleep within minutes...
Was it a success?
Maybe.
Did I salvage the day and maintain my Seal of Approval....
The jury is still out....
No comments:
Post a Comment