ROYAL HOLIDAY
Day 7 and Epilogue: Present Tense




PRADA MAMA's Log, Wednesday, December 29, 2004

10:00 AM: Lance and Troy woke up bright and chipper, excited to find themselves in another hotel room. They eagerly explored our new quarters while I nursed Reanna.

Lorenzo had left for work early, hoping to catch up on the holiday backlog he knew would be waiting for him on his first day back.

Since the hotel was just a short distance from his work, he walked there, leaving Vanna with me in case of an emergency. He also didn't want to relinquish her prime parking spot, fully visible from our room on the third floor. You can actually see her peeking from behind the railing on the right side of the photo above.

I fed my kids breakfast and turned on the TV to look for a children's show for them. I couldn't avoid the news networks, with their extensive coverage of the deadly tsunami in the Indian Ocean, but I just glanced at the images, quickly changing the channels, afraid the children would be traumatized by the frank accounts of death and destruction.

I also requested a late checkout, considering Lorenzo and I didn't sleep until about three that morning. Then I leisurely gathered our belongings while Lance and Troy watched Nick and the Disney Channel.

My husband came to pick us up on his lunch break, loading the van with our overnight gear. Then we checked out, heading straight to the mall right across the street from his office, where the kids and I went shopping while waiting for him to get off from work.

I love all the post-holiday sales that take place immediately after Christmas. The first place I hit was Carlton Cards, where I knew Christmas tree decor would be on sale. I collect heirloom ornaments, adding to them each year. Carlton's whimsical creations can get pricey, so I welcome the opportunity to buy them at 50 to 75% off. I also got calendars for all of my bedrooms at home, including a pop-up Dinosaur calendar which I knew Troy would love. Those were 50% off too.

And then we went to Sbarro, where Daddy later joined us after finishing his work for the day.




We headed home right after eating, finally taking the two-hour drive back to Modesto after what turned out to be a seven-day journey. Our two boys were happy to be finally going home, knowing that when we got there, our first destination would be my brother-in-law Sever's house. We had Kuya Sever and his wife, Anna give out our presents for us, and asked them to collect our gifts from the family as well.

Lsnce and Troy could barely contain themselves, with visions of Power Ranger toys dancing in their heads. When we got to Sever's, we didn't even stop by to exchange niceties. Our little boys had waited long and patiently enough to open their presents. We didn't have the heart to delay it any longer.

But they still had to wait until we got home and the van was unloaded. We laid out their kiddie blankets (gifts from Auntie Olive) on the living room floor and piled their presents on them. By this time the two were fairly bursting with excitement.

We gave them the go signal, and the unwrapping frenzy began.



Lance and Troy descended upon their gifts from the family while Reanna generally got in everyone's way, grabbing presents and crawling everywhere. It has been a tradition with us to open the Sereno family's presents first, waiting to open Mom and Dad's gifts, one per day, starting on Christmas. They appreciate their presents much better this way.

We chose to have them open their Star Wars Lightsabers first. And then we told them they could only play with their toys after they helped us clean up the mess they made while opening presents.

My living room was clear in no time flat.



For subsequent days after that, my boys would rip open packages containing their favorite things, from Dinosaurs to DVDs, to Thomas the Tank Engine and their idols du jour, the Power Rangers. Add to that the flotsam and jetsam they salvaged from their Disneyland trip and I guess it would be safe to say my boys did well for themselves this Christmas season.




As for Lorenzo and me, the best Christmas gift we gave each other this year was the ROYAL HOLIDAY itself...



...along with the precious life lessons we learned: as individuals, a couple, and a family, during those seven days in December.


(PLUGGING: Watch out for 87 GENTLE STREET's new format, "The Long Way Home", coming soon. Also ONE LAST LOOK: Pictures from our "ROYAL HOLIDAY" in my BRAG BOOK, and "Sister Act (Birthday Girl 2)", the latest in The Prada Mama Chronicles.)