Our favorite tradition during December is to go look at Ooo Doogies. Ooo Doogies are what our family calls Christmas lights, and I have so many memories of riding in the back of my mom's van every year when I was a kid, never too old to be completely enthralled by them. I am still enthralled, and I love taking my kids out, only wishing I didn't have to drive so that I could lean my forehead against the cold window and get lost in the magic of the lights.
A few years ago, I started a tradition with my kids of surprising them with our Ooo Doogies outing. I would put them to bed just like any other night, wait until they were quiet and falling asleep, then make hot chocolate and pack cookies. I would warm the car, wake them one at a time, leaving them in their jammies and wrapping them in their blankets, take them out to the car and give them their goodies. We would drive around looking at lights, spilling hot chocolate all over the car and listening to Christmas carols for a few hours until I either ran out of gas or ran out of energy, then go home and crawl back into bed. It's my absolute favorite tradition with my kids, and it's theirs, too.
The next morning, they are still sticky and covered in the remnants of whatever snacks I packed and splashes of chocolate on their faces, and I have to wash their sheets and jammies, and give everyone a bath before we can do anything else, but it's so worth it.
This tradition doesn't photograph as well as opening gifts on Christmas morning; it's not as public as the True Meaning of Christmas; it's not as familial as Christmas dinner or visiting the grandparents, but it's the one that always sticks the best in our minds. Last year was an insane Christmas with my separation from their dad, the Christmas Blizzard of 2010 (I love storm names!), being snowed in for the three day surrounding Christmas, and their dad being hospitalized after being snowed in with us...I'm not sure I managed to get a single picture or to slow down enough to remember a single moment. But I remember the Ooo Doogies and so do my kids. It's like a secret little adventure just for us, nobody knows exactly where we are and we forget about the little stresses in our lives and meld together in a rare instance of brothers and sisters who love each other and a mommy who gets to be a friend and children who don't need anything but this moment in time.
It's the first thing they ask about in December, always wanting to know exactly what day I'm planning the surprise. I never tell them and I never even know myself. In years past, I would try to go on a day that their dad was having a particularly hard time, both to give him a break and to give them a break from the depression that seems to emanate from one person and permeate the entire household.
This year, I hope to go on one of the many good days we are going to have in December. We have reached a time of calm and happiness and openness in our family that has come from years of bonding through rough patches. The recent disappointments the kids have gone through have brought them closer together. They look out for each other, they see that their siblings are their fellow warriors in the battle of life, and they appreciate each other for that. It amazes me to see them becoming better people because of the struggles in their lives. I am inspired by them and they are inspired by each other, and I can't wait to go look at Ooo Doogies this year because it fits our happiness together rather than forcing it.
