Sinterklaas
Santa Claus
Okay now let me think, on the 5th we have Sinterklaas coming, so I have to get a bag ready filled with presents. Before his visit though, I have to make sure I have little gifts to put in the children’s shoe. After Sinterklaas, Lisa’s birthday is coming up on the 14h, but we celebrate it two days before, which is in a weekend. I must make invitations for her friends, order a cake, and buy a birthday present in time. The same weekend of the birthday- outing, we will have a Christmas party at a friend’s house. Two days later Santa is coming to our house, so must gift wrap Christmas presents before that day. Next, two days after the report card day in school, another Christmas celebration at our house, and finally on Christmas day, one day after Roby’s birthday on the 24th (have to remember to order a cake), a friend will prepare Christmas dinner for us.
It is such a hectic month, for all of us. But the enthusiasm of the children encourages me to keep up with the pace of organizing, gift-wrapping, planning, and staying up late to get everything ready. Before every new event that comes up, I tell the children what is going to happen next, and without failure their response is cheers and laughter. Their eyes are shining, and the boys keep asking me about it. When, where, and how, they want to know all about it and can hardly wait for it to happen. And the ibu’s? They are my rock, making sure the kids get their meals, their bath, their clean clothes on time, perhaps the most sane ones during this crazy month. Calmly they take care of the boys, and secure the daily routines as much as possible. They are fantastic!
So on second thoughts I love December! Really I do! I love to see the children’s faces change throughout the month, going from relatively calm to expressions of excitement that seem beyond repair. After each event the level of excitement goes up a knot, and by the time we reached the second Christmas party, some of the boys have already lost a good part of their sense of reality. By the time the month is really over, they all collapse, the youngest ones having tantrums, the older ones searching vigorously for lost boundaries between right and wrong. But their eyes have a warm glow, knowing that all the attention is for them, knowing people care for them, and want to give them joy, and happiness. The kids feel they matter!