Merry Christmas Everyone

Well, last year we gave into the dog lobby, this year it was pierced ears. Have you ever noticed how many little girls have pierced ears these days? Wasn't that something you did when you were in your teens? Sarah had been begging for months to have hers done, telling me that she was the only girl in her class who didn't have pierced ears (and strangely enough, this was true).  I finally gave in but made her swear a solemn oath that she would never get any other body part pierced or tattooed. Ever.

 

Caroline took longer to come around to the decision, but when she did she asked every two minutes until I finally took her to the salon. Once there, she started to cry, loudly, and said she'd changed her mind. Well, she was already in the chair and I knew she was just indulging in the drama of it all, so I made her go through with it. However her little performance at the salon was enough to have people passing by saying "Look at that woman forcing that child to undergo gratuitous cosmetic mutilation" - as they speed dialed Children's Aid.

 

Marketers have a name for kid begging, they call it pester power. Kids can get almost anything they want by following you around day and night and asking for it every two seconds. If we could harness this power for good, just think of what we could achieve. Pestering for Peace. If the children of the world's leaders could be put to work on this, we'd have peace in the Middle East in no time. Think about it, Obama made two promises when he took office, to close Guantanamo and get his kids a dog. Which one did he deliver on? Think about it…

 

Now, as you all know, Christmas is peak pester season. This year, Sarah is still asking for a horse. She's learned how to spell it now, so she thinks her chances of success are pretty good. Caroline has decided go big or go home, so she wrote to Santa and asked for a car. Neither is going to happen.  I think I'll start pestering Santa for a couple of Christmas fairies to decorate the house, buy the gifts, wrap everything, bake and make Christmas dinner. Sadly I don't think pestering works for anyone over the age of 12, so I'm stuck doing it all myself. It's a bit of a thankless job.  I had an entire batch of Christmas cookies stolen by the little red squirrel that lives in our woodpile. I'd put them out on the screen porch until I had a chance to finish decorating them, and when I came back a few days later every last one of them was gone. We spent a day scratching our heads wondering where they went.  Could it have been the cat, the dog, some roving neighbourhood cookie thief?  There weren't even any crumbs left behind. Caroline fingered the culprit the next day when he came back to the scene of the crime. Mrs. Squirrel must be pretty pleased, all her Christmas baking done, and she didn't need to lift a finger. She probably pestered Mr. Squirrel until he made 48 separate trips and didn't give up until the last cookie was in and the door was bolted.  So I'm cookie-less but there's a squirrel family with four dozen almond crescents tucked away for their Christmas feast.

 

 Here's hoping that you get whatever you have been pestering Santa for, and that your Christmas treats are safe from marauding squirrels.

 

Until next year,