My Twice Baked Potato

The build up!  The count down!

I can’t wait!  It is going to be awesome!

We knew that we had the perfect surprise gift for him.  We knew that he would love the extra-large monitor for his computer!  We couldn’t wait to see his face!

He talked about the Nerf gun fight that we would have after Santa delivered the two over-sized guns and the extra ammo.  He smiled and rubbed his hands together mischievously.  He knew that we would have no chance against him.  He thought about his safety zones and where would be the best places to hide and snipe.

Christmas Eve was wonderful.  We had Uncle Jimmy for dinner.  A holiday table was set for a small dinner, just the four of us.  There was great food, good conversation, and plenty of gaming.  He was excited about the gifts that he got from Uncle Jimmy, especially the new Xbox controller.

Before bed time, he opened his Christmas Eve box.  This was a new addition to our holiday traditions. There were cozy pajamas, furry slippers, hot cocoa and marshmallows.  A couple of Minecraft figurines and an instruction book completed this box.  He was all smiles! So were we!  The Christmas Eve box was a huge hit!

If Christmas Eve was this great, tomorrow is going to be even better!

Sigh.

The next morning was Christmas. It started out really rocky.  Santa’s Nerf guns were great but the rest…not so much.

A broken watch.  An unexpected flat-iron.  Wireless headphones that were not wireless.  An intensely loud blender. Splattered whipped cream everywhere that had been intended for Santa pancakes. Clothes as a present?!

Frustration.  Hurt feelings.  Disappointment. No Santa pancakes.

And… he hated the new monitor.  He thought it was blurry and it bothered his eyes.  His face showed his huge disappointment!

I just like my computer the way that I like it!

To him, we were treading on sacred territory by messing with his computer.

Thankfully, things improved when we met up with the rest of the family.  He acted embarrassed when he pulled out the My Little Pony set that he had requested, but it was a much better afternoon.

During bedtime, all of his built up emotions overflowed. He shared the fact that Christmas was a let down.  He didn’t understand why there was so much stress and frustration.  He hated that people had been disappointed.  Disappointed about the gifts that they received and disappointed with the response that they got when people opened their gifts. I hated that my TBP sounded more like a disillusioned teenager than a little boy!

This was supposed to be the most wonderful day of the year and it wasn’t!

He continued… Too much noise.  Too much food.  Too much pressure. Too much time away from home. Too much stuff!

He fell asleep shortly after he poured out all his feelings.  I was disappointed too.  It didn’t go the way that I expected.

We needed a Do-over!

Today’s “do-over day” was a success.  This morning, we all shared our idea of the perfect today.  A little bit of quiet time.  A little bit of shopping time.  A little bit of My Little Pony and computer time and a little bit of eggnog latte time.

I bet that our house isn’t the only house that experienced this “Too Muchness” during Christmas.  Anyone else feel the same way?