My new advent activity has been well-received. I came up with a nice list of activities promoting togetherness and Christmas cheer. Although well-received, it has not been without challenges. In spite of my planning around homework, basketball practice, and various other commitments, a few of the tasks that require a larger investment of time had to be put off. Having assigned the activities a week ago, the days where the homework left to do is high leaves me holding my breath as I open the box to retrieve the daily task. I open, search for the task-of-the-day and hope for simple items such as playing Christmas music during homework completion, or saying a prayer for someone in need. It’s not that I don’t want to bake cookies for the neighbors – which was the assigned to-do on Sunday thinking surely he’d be done with the majority of his weekend homework by then. Unfortunately, trimming the tree, cutting out snowflakes for the windows, and watching Christmas movies were put ahead of the homework – because YaYa’s mom did not assess the assigned load. Nor did she verify that he had actually gotten a start on it when she’d told him to.
This morning our activity was one of the easy ones…or so I thoughts. We were to go to Starbucks for YaYa to have a peppermint hot chocolate before school. We left home earlier than usual to allow for the luxury of enjoying a bonding moment. You know, because that was the whole idea behind this new tradition. We were sitting at our little table enjoying our drinks. YaYa’s hot chocolate made extra special with peppermint syrup and chocolate sprinkles on top of the whipped cream. I left the top off so that he could see how festive it looked and for the photo (of course).
You know where this is going, right?
Like me, YaYa has a habit of eating one thing at a time. Although this doesn’t normally apply to drinks, YaYa had spent the time enjoying his scones and having left the hot chocolate for last, by the time we had to leave, he was just getting to his hot chocolate. Noticing the time, I signaled that we had to go. Well, he moved a little too quickly. The cup fell forward soaking him, from shirt to socks, with peppermint hot chocolate. Thank God I ordered “kid’s temp” for him. There were gasps, but no screams.
It was a bonding moment nonetheless. We drove back home for him to change his clothes. On the way to school, I shared stories of the countless times I (as a teen) knocked over or over-filled everything from orange juice to milk. It was my way of letting him know that it was okay.
Oh yeah, the barista made him another peppermint hot chocolate. This time, we made sure to put the lid on.
That’s a sweet story.
I remember it well. Luv you.