The Polar Express - I Heard The Bells!

Being a proud grandparent, I’ve decided that 2 years is an especially wonderful age for a grandchild.  They talk pretty well, they’re just about potty trained, and they’re still unencumbered when it comes to social graces.  Come to think about it, that’s pretty much the way my wife describes me. 

And the questions. “What is this? What’s this for?  Why are you doing this?”  They are little sponges absorbing everything they can as the world unfolds before them. 

This combination of cuteness and  curiosity, coupled with a sense of wonder, makes Christmas an especially wonderful time for a two year old.  The fear of Santa is over.  The concept of gifting is basically understood.  And the classic Christmas movies are new and fresh to them.  

And so it came about yesterday that we got to introduce Addy, my two year old grand princess, to one of my favorite holiday flicks, The Polar Express.  

It didn’t come about easily.  Another trait of a two year old that I didn’t mention is that upon finding a cartoon, movie, or show they like, they will want to watch  over and over and over again.  I believe if the Taliban kidnapped me and wanted to extract a confession, they could get it by forcing me to watch Peppa Pig fewer times than my granddaughter does.  And if have to watch Luca one more time, I might puka.  So, when we tried to put The Polar Express in the viewing rotation, we were predictably met with all the stubborn resistance a two year old could muster. There was pouting, crying, and complaining - and that was just from my wife.    

As for Addy, she just sat in her MiMi’s lap, whining, “Nooo!  Wanna watch Wuka again!  Wanna watch my Wuka again!”

I remained patiently optimistic.  I knew if we could just get her to focus on Polar Express, she would be hooked.  So we started the movie and as I expected, things began to quiet down.  Seizing an opportunity,  I stepped out to get my car keys.  This would be an excellent time for me to run a few errands. 

However,  as I walked back in the den on my way to the garage,  I stopped mid stride. Because right in front of me was a 2 year old, obviously smitten by the movie I knew so well.   It was innocent.  It was perfect.  It was beautiful. I was smack dab in the middle of  a real-life Hallmark moment. 

As I welled up with emotion, Addy took her gaze away from the screen, looked at me and said, “Day-yea, you watch it too. ”    

(Sidebar: ”Day -yea” is the name she gave me.  It comes from her early attempts to say “Granddaddy”.   I think it’s stuck, and that’s ok.  I actually kind of like it.) 

That did it.  Only Scrooge could run errands after a request like that. I put the car keys down and sat in my red lounge chair.  My plans had changed. There would be the only time in my life to experience this event with this child. So for the next hour and a half, I watched Addy as she soaked in the Christmas magic of The Polar Express for the very first time.  She would occasionally glance up at me and smile, happy I was sharing this time with her. Tears began welling up in my eyes.  It was hard not to get emotional watching this unfold before me.

Honestly, I must admit that during a lot of holiday seasons I’m like the adults in the movie.   I don’t hear the Christmas bells ringing.  I get too caught up getting ready for Christmas that I don’t experience Christmas.  That wasn’t the case today.  Today,  I heard the clean, pure peal of Santa’s bells as clear as a child.  It was a special moment between grandparent and grandchild that I will share with her when she gets older.  

Not to mention what she said the minute the movie ended. 

“I wanna see it again.”

Merry Christmas everyone.  I hope you hear the bells. 

Please like and share!

#Christmaswithgrandchildren
#twoyearoldsaregreat
#ThePolarExpress
#Iwanttowatchitagain







Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Water Aerobics - H2 Oh - No!

Image
Since I had knee surgery earlier this year, I’ve been looking for a low impact method of exercise.  Actually, my wife has been looking for me. My choice was no exercise - that’s low impact, right?  Of course, she  completely ignored my comments and promptly enrolled me in her water aerobics class at the YMCA.  I should've reported her to the DHR.  Whoever paired exercise with swimming pools should be forced to wear a Speedo that’s three sizes too small.  Pools are made for slothful activities like sunning on a lounge chair, or hanging on the side with an adult beverage in hand. Swimming laps or diving (unless it’s a cannon ball), should be against the law.  Nevertheless, I agreed to go to water aerobics because I could use this for leverage the next time I wanted to go on a golf trip. So in a couple of days, I walked in the Y, flashed my ID, and for the next hour, was SOL.  I changed, went outside, and was greeted by a swimming pool chocked full of people. It looked like Gu
Read more

Joe Willie, Finebaum, And Me

Image
  When my cell phone rang, the name on the screen flashed Paul Finebaum. This wasn't an unusual occurrence because I had been writing jokes for Paul to use at his many speaking engagements.   We also occasionally ate lunch together.   No death threats please - I like Paul. While I don’t always care for his schtick, I know he’s not like his radio persona.  For example, once during a conversation, I told him how much I liked Pat Conroy, the great southern author. A few weeks later, Paul called me and said, “I’ve got Conroy on the show tomorrow. Why don’t you come up and meet him?  You can talk to him during the commercial breaks.”  An act of kindness I’ve never forgotten.   I digress. Unusual call or not, my curiosity was piqued. I picked up my cell, and after some chit-chat, Finebaum told me why he phoned.  “You know about that charity roast of me coming up in a couple of weeks?”  Of course I knew. The airwaves had been hawking it for over a month.  “Well, I just got just got
Read more

Tutus, Taps, & Terror

Image
  Oh Lord, I can almost smell the estrogen.  It’s so powerful that it overpowers the hundreds of bouquets of flowers that parents and grandparents have brought in the auditorium. Everyone taking their seats are smiling and laughing.  That’s because the program hasn’t begun. I’ll check in about 3 hours and see where the smiles are then. In some circles this is known a dance recital, but I think of it as a level of Dante’s hell.   The opening of the event was very unusual: the emcee asked any veterans to stand and we greeted them with applause. My, have things changed. When I was a kid in the Vietnam era, a lot of the audience would’ve probably spit on anything concerning the military.   Then someone sang the Star Spangled Banner, and when the singer finished with, “…and the home of the brave,” at least a dozen people yelled,”Roll Tide!”  I’m ashamed to say I was one of them. Hey, I got caught up in the moment.  I suppose I was having a bit of a Vietnam flashback myself. This rec
Read more