“Mom, mom wake up, Santa’s been here.” Its my 4 year old Ian. I slowly squint my eyes into narrow slits to try to make out the clock on the other side of the room without actually finding my glasses in the dark. Surely it can’t be time to get up, it was a late night and “Santa” didn’t get to bed until after 1 am. I finally can see enough of the clock to see that there is a five, a zero and some other number. Ugh its only five am, far too early to be up even for an excited 4 year old. I finally convince him to come snuggle for awhile and after much squirming he finally falls back asleep.
“Mom, mom, wake up, Santa’s been here.” Don’t these children have a dad, its now my six year old Easton. I ask him what the numbers on the clock say, he tells me seven, three, zero. He reminds me that his dad and I told him he could get up at 7:30am. Easton also informs me that he has woken his older brother, Evan who is 8, up. They want to open presents but I disappoint them with the reminder that they can’t open presents until the big kids get here and they won’t be here for at least an hour. My husband and I get up and tell the boys to be quiet and not wake Ian up yet.
Ding dong, dog barking, three excited boys yelling the big kids are here. Chaos ensues. The boys and the dog rush to open the door for the first arrivals consisting of their older brother Eric, his wife Catherine and big sister Brett. A few minutes later the last of the big kids arrive, big sister Becky and her boyfriend Jarrid. There is a lot of excited chatter and choruses of “we can open presents now.”
The smell of coffee fills the air, utensils clatter as everyone fills their plates, excited chatter of kids and adults fill the room as we settle in for the morning. Everything is right, all my kids are home at least for part of the day. Its the best kind of chaos.
Mrs. Pam 
The details of the sounds and smells made it feel like I was in that house surrounded by everyone and the animals. I loved the way the kids enthusiasm was described, as it had brought me right back to being that young and having that much excitement about things like Christmas. The brief description of the young and older kids intrigued me and I would love to hear more about them all and their individual personalities, etc. This story reminded me of when I was young during Christmas, and all my close relatives and immediate family would rent a room in Cypress Hills. The children (and adult children) there would talk loudly and be rambunctious, causing the dogs to bark. There was also always coffee made Christmas morning by my mother.
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Sydney thanks for your lovely comment. My kids are my absolute joy. I have 4 boys and 2 girls. There is a 13 year gap between the oldest 3 and the little 3 so I usually refer to them as the big kids and the little kids.
My oldest son is 27 and married. He is my gentle giant, he is about 6’2″ and probably one of the gentlest men I know. He loves kids and is great with his little brothers and most kids just adore him. He likes to yank my chain and provoke me into all kinds of arguments.
My oldest daughter just turned 25, she is a very straight forward no nonsense kind of gal. She is also one of those people who wakes up happy. She has no time for bs she tells it to you straight but she never intends to hurt anyone’s feelings although it sometimes happens. She is a lot like me in that way. She has a long time boyfriend and hopefully soon they will get married and make me a grandma
My youngest daughter is 23, out of all 6 of the kids she is most like me in looks, although she is 5 inches taller than me. She is an introvert and very quiet. Because of this I worry most about her when she travels usually alone. I shouldn’t though because I have seen a tough side of her that makes me know she can handle herself. She is a stickler for tradition.
My second son and oldest of the little kids is almost 10. He is very much an in the box kind of guy and likes everyone to follow the rules exactly. When he was smaller we used to joke that he was Sheldon from the Big Bang Theory, that gives you a bit of insight. He has lightened up a bit.
Son #3 is going to be 8 right away. He is the sweetest , kindest child I have ever known. He is always happy and chipper. He is the comedian in our family. He says his job is to make people laugh. He looks out for both his brothers feelings and when his feelings get hurt he is crushed. He will share anything he has with you.
My #4 son and child #6 makes me shake my head. He is 5. I say repeatedly God had a sense of humour giving me this child at 42. He is intense and has a very nasty temper, although he is learning to control it more and more as he gets older. He is in your face, cheeky, and a bundle of energy. He never walks always runs, doesn’t sleep much. Despite what a handful he is, his is a very loving little boy and cute.
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Honestly for a moment I actually thought I was you haha! You were very descriptive and made me feel like I was apart of the story. Very well done! Thanks for sharing.
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