Christmas through a child's eyes

Do you remember what it was like to be a kid, eagerly awaiting Christmas months in advance?

Do you remember secretly adoring Santa Claus, but publicly refusing to have your photo taken with him?

Do you remember being lost in your own world of make-believe, while your parents were rushing around the house, trying to get things done?

OK, enough questions here.

I must credit my daughter Maria, 3, for providing me with some inspiration for this column, and a co-worker, for suggesting I write about this topic. She will remain nameless, because I didn’t ask her permission to publish her name.

While my husband, Kyle, and I deal with life and care for our new son, Luke, Maria remains calm and collected.

After all, it’s almost Christmas. What’s there to worry about when you’re 3, nearly 4, healthy, happy and have a new baby to play with?

Maria has been told that as long as she eats her dinner and listens to her parents, Santa Claus will stop by her home on Christmas.

Enough said. Life is good on the home front. She’s eating her dinner.

She’s such a joy to watch when I come home during my lunch break.

Today, she did a slow, improvised dance while watching the classic Disney movie “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,” listening to “Someday my Prince will Come.”

I would love to be able to zone out like that, thoroughly enjoy a program and quickly snap back into reality. It’s a gift in itself.

Our baby, Luke, is more alert day by day. He’s 2 months old and loves to gaze at the Christmas lights. He’s not so much into toys, just the bright lights.

When he starts smiling and cooing, I can’t help but stop whatever I’m doing to watch.

As for me, Christmas has taken on a whole new meaning.

As long as my kids are healthy and happy, I have everything I need.

Lynne Lynch is the Columbia Basin Herald business and agriculture reporter. Her coworkers agree. Luke is a blessed gift and in a round-about way, he helps provide more Christmas cheer in the office.