For the last several weeks, as we all know, Mindy has been Christmas-ing. She has closets full of presents, has used 8 rolls of wrapping paper, and has been spreading Christmas cheer everywhere she goes. While I’m not exactly a Christmas elf myself, I usually put off Christmas preparations till the middle of November like everyone else. I chastise merchants for their blatant plug of commercialism by putting out Christmas decorations alongside mounds of Halloween candy. I shun radio stations that start playing jingle bells after the monster mash, and I abhor television stations that play back to back specials of Charlie Brown and The Great Pumpkin and a Charlie Brown Christmas. Usually I demand the separation and distinction of holidays. But, living by Mindy this year has been very different! The other morning I even woke up full of Christmas cheer.
I also feel to point fingers at Scott for my shameful behavior. I’ve been working on his present since August when we drew names. It has been a labor of love which I have enjoyed seeing develop but at the same time it’s forced me to be in the Christmas spirit sooner than expected.
(I promise that the sharing of this background and preparatory information has a point.) So Mindy and I have been blatantly discussing Christmas for several weeks now and this weekend it all came to a climax. The Case family left St. George on Friday to spend time at Amy’s before heading up to Richfield for Halloween. We told Mindy that we needed to work on her computer so she should leave her house open. Matthew and I had concocted a plan that we would sneak into Mindy’s house and put up her Christmas tree while she was gone, so that when she came home it would be a Christmas miracle. We even went and bought a bell and put it on her tree as “the first gift of Christmas” (our first idea was to get 4 bells and take the ringer out of one and give it to Kyle, but Matthew talked me out of it). So we waited at Mindy’s house till she left, and being Mindy, she was already suspicious. She called us twice, once she had left, to try to catch us, stating that she was looking at us through the window. At this, Matthew jumped and immediately checked all the windows. Matthew and I hurriedly put up the Christmas tree and giggled like little school girls/boys as we hopped in our car and drove away.
After the fun weekend we got a call from Mindy, “Santa came to our house during Halloween!” For once Mindy was surprised! It’s going to be a merry Halloween, a joyous thanksgiving, and a happy holiday after all.
A Story - In Mindy's defense:
Rebecca Monson was invited to a small holiday party at the home of Larry King. The place was decorated top to bottom in Christmas!....And he's Jewish!
