random moments

The other day I was at target buying some doodads. This is what they sell. The guy who rang me up was obviously a pretty new immigrant. His command of the language wasn't too bad but you could tell that he was still working pretty hard to communicate. Yet the interaction with him was kind of humbling and also kind of took me out of the whole "argh shopping at Target during the holidays/fighting the crowds" mindset. He was so sincere in how hard he was working. The pay may not be hot but he was going to give me great customer service (which he did) and I found myself chatting to him for a couple of minutes about this and that. Inane chatter but still it was kind of nice. Afterward I kept thinking about the chutzpah it takes to move to another country and essentially start at the bottom and not having any guarantee that it will all work out. But it often does. It may take a generation or two but it really does. I suppose this is one of the schmaltzy loves I have for this country.

...

I mentioned this elsewhere but I took Senor Onion to Trophy for a special treat. (a tiny cupcake) As we were getting out of the car I spotted Santa Claus getting out of a car (driven by an elf) I pointed out Santa to Senor Onion and said, "Look there's Father Christmas." Senor Onion stopped, starred and covered his mouth in awe. He then whispered, "Father Christmas!" Father Christmas waved at him. As we came into Trophy, Santa came in behind us (with his elf) and had jingle bells and said, "ho ho ho Merry Christmas." Again Senor Onion was floored and covered his mouth again and quietly said, "That's Father Christmas." I think he was a bit shy to go up to him. It was like seeing Elvis/God in person. It was definitely awesome. We then had cupcakes and a nice look at some toys in a near by toy shop. But yes to see Santa Claus was mind-blowing and to witness his reaction was damn exciting and makes a person love Christmas more.

All in all it has been a good day. Senor Onion has been an absolute peach and I kept telling him how proud I was to be his Mom. He and I had a blast together. He was so patient when we were grocery shopping, helped out with his sister and we even had fun being hams around the house doing not too much. A favorite activity.

Miss Biscuit has come up with a new noise. How to describe it... she sounds like a cat that has had its tail stepped on. She obviously understands that if she makes this noise she gets our attention. It isn't like she is crying when she makes this noise. She has merely figured out she can do this. I refer to it as her "we are NOT amused and someone better buy me a damn pony or heads will roll NOW PAY ATTENTION" voice. This is one of many reasons why I call her Princess Pants. As long as we do her bidding she is a happy girl who smiles and giggles at anything. Just don't incite her wrath or the voice comes out.

Now to relax in a hot bath and not think about what needs to be done tomorrow.