Our Christmas BANG!

When I think of the phrase, “go out with a bang,” I picture the fireworks spectacular at Disneyland. Every night at dark thousands of guests, young and old, gather along Main Street USA in eager anticipation to see a show with the magic and grandeur that only Disney can produce. The fireworks light up the sky in coordination with orchestral music blasting out of the park’s loud speakers. The show starts out with a light and whimsical dance and the fireworks explode with a POP! here, a WHIZ! there, and then a CRACKLE! At first they are simple; the type you would find at any everyday show. But then the music tempo quickens and big, uniquely shaped bursts will explode above with a large BOOM! Everyone cheers. Eventually the show draws to a close and the grand finale is a pyrotechnic display beyond comparison. The music is intense and powerful and fireworks of all shapes, sizes, and colors burst in the dark sky with a jaw-dropping BANG, BANG, BANG!

Disneyland’s fireworks show is a lot like our last 10 days together. We shared many common, ordinary moments together, with some special ones mixed in between, and the week eventually culminated into a spectacular Christmas day.

We spent a lot of our last week and a half together going about business as usual- I did the extra cooking, dishes, and laundry that went along with having an extra adult in the house, James fixed some odds and ends that were demanding his attention. But we also made sure to spend some time making memories together- We spent some quality one-on-one time with each of the kids, James and I spent some quality time with each other when went to dinner one night. One of my favorite times was when we all (including Johnny!) got outside and played in the snow.

We spent most of Christmas Eve preparing a large feast. James and I worked together in the kitchen all day and made turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, cranberry sauce, candied yams, corn, dinner rolls, and of course, pie.

Then, after our bellies were full, we retreated to the living room and enjoyed a Christmas movie with the kids. After we’d dressed them in their matching snowman pjs and sent them to bed we began playing Santa. I was in charge of filling the stockings and James worked hard to build the train table set for the kids.

Johnny must have sensed the excitement in the house because he refused to fall asleep. He kept James and me company for the two hours that we spent preparing for Christmas.

By 10:30 we were all nestled snugly in our beds with visions of sugarplums dancing in our heads.

Christmas Day was a thrill from beginning to end. The kids had a great time opening presents and James and I loved watching them get excited about the toys we’d chosen for them. There wasn’t any fighting (and whenever Jamie is involved in an activity, that‘s saying a lot!). They took turns ripping open their gifts, waited patiently when it was Mommy and Daddy’s turn, and helped Johnny open his packages.

 

 

Opening our presents only took an hour and we spent most of the rest of the day playing with all the new goodies.

 

 

 In the afternoon we all watched the Phineas and Ferb Christmas Special: A Very Perry Christmas. After eating a dinner of left-overs and stocking candy, everyone played some Wii games together. Soon thereafter it was off to bed.

In retrospect, Christmas was the perfect ending to our time together. Ordinarily a week like this would sputter out and close with a dark and dismal end. But instead our entire week was spent in eager anticipation of this special day and when the day finally came it was full of laughter and joy. We made memories to sustain us through the next seven months, and then some. Saying good-bye to James the next morning was tearful but all-in-all I was so happy that he was able to go out with a big Christmas BANG!, in true Disney fashion.