Countdown to Christmas 2025…Day 3
So the first memory I jotted in my notes was from a few Christmases after we moved into this home we have inhabited for nine years.
Caroline had come along with all the joy that miracles bring and she was toddling around, a rose among the thorns of three wild and crazy brothers that year.
And no.
They are not thorns, but she does bring an element of charm and grace into the perpetual locker room that is their world.
That year, all three boys needed bikes and so Papi and I got the specifics from mom and dad and purchased each one the appropriate size.
These were tucked far away in the back of a storage area and covered and concealed so that even when they would opt to play hide and seek and end up back in there, the bikes went undetected until the time was right.
Since we couldn’t wrap them and we didn’t want to put them under the tree, we made a scavenger hunt that took our grands on a wild chase all through the house.
They raced around up and down the stairs, in and out of rooms and the garage, finding clues and having Graham read them as he was the only reader in the group.
Since I wrote the clues, he sometimes needed help deciphering my handwriting. And even I had trouble reading them at times….
It was so fun to watch them puzzle out the next location and take off again. Finally we ended the merry chase in the unfinished part of the basement in a far back corner and three boys squealed with delight as they rolled their bikes out into the family room.
Our joy and laughter was short lived.
Because there was a little blonde girl, so young one would have thought she didn’t understand what had just transpired.
We didn’t know our Caroline well enough yet to suspect that for her, it was one for all and all for one when it came to the band of brothers.
She had tagged along behind the shenanigans, not fully understanding what we were looking for but enjoying every moment.
Until the blankets were thrown off three new bikes.
She went back into the recesses of boxes and cans of paint looking for the fourth bike that wasn’t there.
I will never forget her eyes searching and then she just knelt down with her head on the ground and let her sorrow flow.
In quiet tears she grieved our transgression.
She has, true to her nature, forgiven us and we have learned that when it comes to Caroline, despite her strong attachment to being one of the girls…when it comes to the brothers, she is and integral part of the team.
A mistake I never want to repeat, for sure. This was definitely a Christmas ugly and it still hurts a bit to think about.
I don’t look over the Christmas gifts, or any efforts made for the boys that I don’t consider how she might want to be included.
Live and learn, friends. Live and learn.