Christmas Fail

Sometimes you need a good Christmas Fail story to pass onto the kids, to friends, to those of us who blow it....oh....all the time. This one goes out to the man who rarely blows it - and when he does on Christmas - he let's me tell the blogosphere. Good job, babe. Picture it: Christmas morning, all crazy and cozy and Robby and Olive (Judah not in the scene yet) are in footy pj's and ready to rock and roll with the gifts. Lots of hopping around. Lots of excitement...it's awesome.

So we start by opening up the stockings, as you do. And both kids open there gifts and again, more hopping and joy, and then they want Daddy to open his because they are so excited. This is a few years ago...so I don't recall what he opened...just that they were excited about it!

All stockings were opened except for mine. Now, mind you, I had noticed when I came down that morning that my stocking was pretty flat.... and, well.... most likely empty compared to the bulky, sagging other stockings. Hmmm. I think Rob forgot about that. And I really tried to just move past it in my mind and focus on giving. It actually was a small internal moment of sadness.

But then the kids, with more hopping, begged me to get to my stocking. I was hoping to just skip the whole reality. But Rob then turns to the stocking, like the kids do...and anticipate what I would open.

So, now, I have to look inside my stocking and indeed prove that I was correct...with a slight hope of an amazing flat gift card gift. Or something.

I took my stocking off and looked inside...and said to the kids what was true: "Well, there's nothing in there."

And Rob looks at me, kind of confused and said: "Oh, babe...what happened?"

What happened? Now this is getting super awkward...and then it clicks...and Rob is totally sad and embarrassed and says: "OH! That's me! Babe! I am so sorry. I forgot. I just...."

(...thought I would take care of it?!? My own stocking?!)

And he sheepishly did think it would get taken care of. Maybe the guy still was believing in Santa.

Not a few moments later he pulls out his phone and types in for an eternal reminder each calendar year: "Get stocking thing for my wife."  And he just showed this reminder to me the other night as we laughed about that moment....1096 days ago. He has rocked the stocking ever since.

So here's to a Merry Christmas and happy stocking stuffing to all!