I know I missed Maggnificent Monday yesterday. But you're glad I did because now I get to tell you about the Polar Express. Last evening the three of us bundled up in our warmest jammies and went downtown to board the train to the North Pole. We all stood out on the platform while a loudspeaker read the beginning of the book and then the train whistles in the distance and comes around the corner in a whoof of smoke and steam and it started to snow and all the kiddos were enchanted and it was magical.
On the train, our car's usher handed us cookies that Mrs. Claus baked for us that morning and of course there's hot chocolate too and they read the book over a loudspeaker and we all take turns looking at the pictures. Maggie liked the cookie especially, but she also enjoyed painting in the fog on her window and occasionally seeing Christmas lights on houses outside in the dark. Once we got to the North Pole, we could see Santa on his sleigh with some elves out in the snow. Maggie kept yelling that she wanted out at this point, but that may be because some mom had misunderstood what was going to happen and might have mentioned that Mags could go sit on Santa's lap and tell him what she wanted for Christmas. I don't know who could have said that to the child.
Maggie was somewhat pacified by the promise that Santa would get on the train and come give her a present. We tried practicing saying "hi Santa" and "thank you Santa" but Mags was too shy to really interact with The Man. She did accept his bell with a kind of awe and enthusiastically jingled it all the way home. (Bill got a bell too, but apparently I haven't been a good girl this year. Any ideas how to repent for Santa in just a few days?) Luckily there were Christmas carols to sing all the way back so a sugar-highed two-year-old could shake her bootie and jump up and down with spirit.
When we got to the station, I convinced Maggie to yell at Santa "Merry Christmas Santa" and he turned to her and waved and wished her Merry Christmas back. It was really quite a magical trip and will definitely be one of our traditions from now on.
