Addie Chat

I picked Addie up from school today, and as we were driving he was talking about his current and unrelenting obsession... trains. Entire afternoons can be whiled away drawing his favorite baggage cars or cabooses (cabeese?), daydreaming about model trains, discussing whether the Pennsylvania Railroad is available in O-Gauge or HO-Gauge. He can give dissertations on the difference between diesel and steam engines, and can often be heard humming the refrain of "The Atchison Topeka and the Santa Fe". However, this afternoon our locomotive conversation paused briefly while we both took in a building-size poster of the upcoming Disney animated feature, "A Christmas Carol".

"Do you want to see that movie when it comes out, Addie?" I asked.

"Yeah," he said. "What is it about?"

"Well," I began, "It's about an old miser named Ebenezer Scrooge. He's a very selfish and greedy man, and he hates everything to do with Christmas. In fact, when people come up to him and say, 'Merry Christmas!', he says, 'BAH, HUMBUG.' But then, on Christmas Eve, three ghosts visit him, and they teach him the true meaning of Christmas. By morning, he wakes up feeling grateful to be alive. He shouts, 'Merry Christmas!' to everyone on the street, and he rushes out of his house to give all his employees and family presents and turkeys and jobs and good cheer!

"You know Addie," I continued, "That's a big part of the spirit of Christmas- giving. That's why I really want you to help me pick out gifts for all our family and friends this year, because you'll get so excited about all the great things we're going to make for other people. You know, I actually look forward to giving presents on Christmas more than getting them. Christmas is so much fun because I can't wait to see people open the gifts I've made for them. It makes me happy to see them so happy."

There was a great, long silence in the car. As we sat at the stoplight, I assumed that must have been alot for Addie to take in. Knowing his sensitive, introspective young mind as well as I do, I knew he was contemplating the themes I introduced, perhaps needing clarity about the folly of Mr. Scrooge, or the meaning of BAH HUMBUG. I waited patiently, ready to answer any questions he might have about the ins and outs of gift-giving. Maybe he'd even come up with some gift ideas I hadn't thought of yet, and we could start shopping materials for a homemade ornament collection as soon as we got Halloween under our belts. At long last, I heard his voice.

"Mama?"

"Yes?"

"I want to be SURE Santa knows I want the O-Gauge Surfliner train AND the New Jersey Transit AND the Southern Pacific train. Oh, and the Amfleet. Definitely the Amfleet."

So much for profound parenting.