My December Campout

[in_the_blue]

Last night, Hannah and I had a campout in our living room by the solstice tree. Ah, the fun things you can do with a 9-year-old! We have a sectional sofa and we each took one of the sections, and I read to her by light of computer until she fell asleep. I didn't get a lot of sleep -- woke up a lot of times which I don't do in my own bed -- but we had a blast. Midnight (literally) snack and everything. She brought her fluffy warm sleeping bag and all her blankets and pillows, and I grabbed my down comforter and my own pillow and we settled in and yacked and blabbed and read and giggled.

I love being her mom.

Now if I can just get her to bed earlier than midnight or 1AM sometime in the next 2 days so gifts can be wrapped and stockings hung by the chimney with care. She still has some belief in the whole Santa Claus legend. I'm not sure how long that will last... probably until January 3 when she's back in school. But she's excited for that. They'll be studying space and whatever that entails, and she's got a mom whose secret desire is to teach Astronomy and read sci-fi all day, so she's in good hands. I'm the one who wakes her up in the middle of the night for what we call astronomical events: the brightest Mars ever; comets; meteor showers. She knows a good handful of constellations and always stops to ask where they are.

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Random memory: a pub somewhere in England and a gnarl-toothed, slightly pissed young Englishman telling me I couldn't walk across the pub to the ladies' without giving him a kiss first. My response? Oh yeah? Watch this.

[sound of deflating balloon]

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I am all but done shopping. Tonight Hannah and I get to make our gingerbread Death Eaters and decorate them. Wonder which one Santa will choose. And once again this year, Hannah's friend Sara will be here for New Year's Eve. Last year she got snowed in for 3 days. We'll see how it goes this time around.

Comments

[shellebelle93.livejournal.com]

That is so cool.

And gingerbread Death Eaters cracks me up!

[jiminyc.livejournal.com]

Isn't being a Mom the greatest joy? Your campout sounds just wonderful...and gingerbread Death Eaters? Hilarious!

I imagine Hannah loves being YOUR daughter too. :)

Hope you have a wonderful holiday.

[sff-corgi.livejournal.com]

Ermmmm... I have lots of fun with D'Argo! [struggling to 'join the club']

I don't have room to make cookies. I've got a killer spice cookie recipe. One time it even got severely stress-tested in an environmental context and passed amazingly well. It's perfect for cookie cutters, although the product of the tail of my porpoise/dolphin cutter is still pretty much too thin for picking up. :(

[unioncityblue5.livejournal.com]

You know, you're one of the coolest mothers ever. I really wish I had had someone to camp out with and sit by a solstice tree and be woken up by. She'll always remember how wonderful her mother is, and that really is something amazing you're giving her.

[in-the-blue.livejournal.com]

If you can't have fun with your own kids and read to them in the dark... when can you?

I'm finding this whole mom thing so very wonderful. It has its moments when it's less wonderful, to be sure, but by and large... it teaches me about myself every day.

[h311ybean]

"Oh yeah? Watch this."

Harharhar! I've got to remember that :D

[h311ybean]

And of course I forgot to say that I love the idea of an indoor camping trip. You and Hannah both ROX.