Tuesday, December 31, 2019

Santa's helper: On tweens' big hearts



Hobo Mama wants you to know she's a professional blogger! Look at how professional she's being!

I've been finding myself sharing posts on my Facebook page about how big kids are sweethearts, too. About how we often attribute malice or disinterest to the gangly tweens and teens with the earbuds in and the cool scowl on their faces, and we don't look further to see the tender, thoughtful souls beneath.

Living with a sweetheart of a 12-year-old who's now wearing men's shoes and is about to outgrow his aunt by height, I know firsthand that appearances can be deceiving and that the warmest hearts can beat beneath the pulled-up hoodies of adolescence.

Leading up to Christmas Eve, Mikko had been making jokes about staying up all night to ambush Santa. He thinks Danny Gonzalez's take on the movie The Santa Clause is hilarious, and he bought the single of Danny's song where he states his intention of murdering Santa so he can take over.

Since we've always been open about Santa being parents, Mikko knew full well he'd be ambushing me, so I just laughed along and made jokes about watching my back.

But then Mikko opened up to Sam that his true intention was to "catch" me putting out the gifts under the tree so he could help. He knew I performed the magic sometime after kidlets had gone to sleep but not exactly when. Once I knew that, I talked to him and agreed to let him in on the task.


On Christmas Eve, we successfully ensconced the younger brothers in their rooms and forbade them to come into the living room until the morning. Then we got down to business. Mikko proved a hardworking elf by helping me bring down and unpack all the wrapped gifts. He organized all the presents by recipient and arranged it all to his liking.


We got it all done in record time, and he didn't have to stay up all night after all.


This tween really is such a sweet kid, and a first-class Santa apprentice.

So give your big kids a hug, and be kind to the ones you meet. They're still looking to us as models of how to act, and some of them might just follow our example to become top-tier elves, and teach us a thing or two along the way.



Happy New Year to you and yours!

1 comments:

Maddy said...

The kindness of tween boys is a wonderful wonderful thing. I have seen it time and again and even in my own family. My nephews are so good to and patient with my younger daughter. I am always touched by their kindness as I am by your son's.

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