It's only One in the afternoon and I've already retreated from the teeming masses into my Bunker/ Office/ Fortress of Solitude. I am finding out why Superman needed a Fortress of Solitude. Being the GIC (Guy-In-Charge, pronounced "GEEK") is a tough job. Let's see what we've got simmerin' so far today...
9- Adults
21- Children
4- Dogs
4- Cats
1- Turtle
1- Hamster (That I'm trying to keep hidden until Christmas)
I have two hams cooking in the BBQ Oven outside, three pumpkin pies in the downstairs oven and I'm trying to help children throw together some improvised "costumes" for the Nativity Scene this evening. I have pulled out ALL of my khaki green triangle bandages and pressure bandages for for their moulage (that means costumes for you civilian types) and I have had to confiscate my black grease paint three times! (The grease paint is designed NOT to come off and I don't relish the thought of 21 kids in "black-face" for the Christmas morning photos. Jesse Jackson would be protesting our house by New Years Eve!)
Now... I'm resting. I'm doing what any great commander would do and I'm allowing my troops a little R&R from the schedule of events I have printed for today. I'm finding that children need structure and motivation... but only to a point. Spontaneity and whimsy seem to be essential components for children... and for some adults, too.
I could tell I was becoming a little too "rigid" when my 7 yo female pygmy put her hands on her hips and told me that she was going to call Santa if I didn't let her "have some fun" today. The thought of being reported to the Big Man himself was only mildly annoying. But the thought of taking ANY of the wonder and fun of Christmas from the kids set me back a few steps. Not to mention it is supposed to produce severe storms tonight and we may lose electrical power. So I am making my checklists for such an emergency.
We are already having to move all of the older kids from the big tents in the backyard and into the house. This is causing a logistical NIGHTMARE in my head. Order amid the chaos is a constant battle. I seem to be staying ahead of it... is it safe to say that??? People say I should knock on wood when I say things like that... huh? Fate and I have faced off more times than I can count and I can tell you that, thus far, fate is a wussy! That's right... I'm tempting fate... oooooooooh!
I just figure that with proper preparation and strategic planning even the worst that fate can throw at you can be handled and overcome. I sound boring now, don't I? ("Spud is such a planner! Such a 'worrying mother'!") Trust me! I've heard it ALL before... BUT those are the same people who thanked me later when the "balloon when up" and the shit hit the fan!
Soooo... I sit here like all of the great Military Leaders have done on such occasions and I am listening to the joy of sudden chaos, the elation of near calamity and the unbridled laughing of children as they do what children do best... be kids! And I must say... I may or may not have allowed a small smile on this grizzly old face as I too enjoy the revelry of the moment. Because, quite honestly... I can hear the wind picking up and can see the storm on the horizon.
Spuds
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