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Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Here comes Santa Claus

I haven't been feeling well (again) lately, so I threw on random clothes and made it over to the twins' this morning, planning for a quiet day. The first thing I hear when I open the door is their mom calling "Hello!" from upstairs, and when I went up to investigate, I see her rummaging through the closet and both kids playing in the hallway. "I thought we'd go see Santa today!"

Now, despite my slight nausea, this prospect greatly excited me. I love being out with kids, and I love doing things that make me feel like part of the family. We got Patrick and Lilly dressed, fed them breakfast, and then I rode in the van with them and their dad, while their mom followed in the other car (their dad was staying at the mall longer than we were). The mall we were headed to was half an hour away, so that didn't help my not-feeling-well. Chatted with their dad on the way up. Parked, popped up two strollers, and I pushed Lilly while their mom pushed Patrick.

Most heartwarming moment of the morning (though it doesn't sound like it at first): both parents squatting on either side of Santa, each with one kid, and me by the camera guy, when a crying, scared Lilly stretches her arms out toward me and yells my name. Poor kid...but I felt so loved. (And, not going to lie, proud that their mom saw that moment.) In the end, a decent picture was taken, and we shuffled them back out to the car. When their mom and I arrived home with them, I was pretty motion sick, and she let me go home early, which I was grateful for. But I'm so glad I got to go!

Their mom also told me that she talked to the occupational therapy team who visited awhile back, and apparently the team raved about me and how good I was with the kids. So, physical health is -5, mental health is +10.

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