A Mommy Story

When I was a kid, I was an expert at Christmas lists for Santa, or for anyone who would buy me gifts. I would carefully craft my list for the family, precisely detailing each item. It had to be the Butterscotch My Little Pony – if you got me Snuzzle I’d throw it out the window. And if someone was getting me Voltron (yep, I loved girl and boy toys), it had better be the metallic lions, not the crappy plastic version, or worse – the Voltron made of cars. Ick.

Of course, I also had to make sure it was as easy as possible for people to find these toys. So on my list I included where each item could be purchased, even noting the prices and page numbers if they were available in the J.C. Penney Wish Book. I may have even included the catalog’s phone number as well; after all, I didn’t want to risk getting clothing because they didn’t know how to order my toys!

And like many girls, I also always included a real pony on my list. Not surprisingly, I never got that item. It was probably for the best: we lived in town and I doubt the landlord would have given us our deposit back for hoofprints on the walls.

I found myself having trouble this year coming up with a Christmas list for my family. I was happy to receive their lists and start planning what to get them, but when it came to me, I was drawing a blank. What do I want, anyway?

Most Christmas wishes I can think of are either intangible gifts or gifts that would be considered “for the house”. I’d love a small chest freezer so I could stock up on frozen foods when they go on sale. Or maybe a day where I escaped wearing any of my daughter’s meals in any form. And what mom wouldn’t love more sleep? That would be a great gift – sleeping in until noon.

I’d also like my house to magically clean itself to spare me the upcoming work of making it presentable for family. We have to rearrange furniture to make room for all of the people coming to our house on Christmas Day, vacuum, dust, mop, and in general turn our house into something it hasn’t been since, um, last Christmas.

However, an item someone can purchase for me? I just don’t know. Last year I got a gift card for Bath & Body Works so that I could spend some time pampering myself (ours has a partial spa in it). I still have over $60 on that $100 gift card, because while I’d love to have more massages and facials, it’s very hard to do so when I have a toddler to keep my eye on. I managed to get one facial when I had a day off work but still took Cordy to see her grandfather for the day. Since then, I haven’t been able to find time to schedule another. Hell, I barely find time to shower 4 of 7 days a week (5 days if I’m lucky).

I’ll ask you: what are you asking for this Christmas (or Hanukkah, or other holiday)? And can it be found in the J.C. Penney Wish Book?