I took Jack to a fun activity called Swim with Santa and we had so much fun. Santa was in his swim trunks and Bermuda shorts and even got in the water with the kids. It reminded me of the two Christmas' I spent in Chile on my mission. Chile's weather is opposite ours and Santa comes riding in on a Surfboard and everyone goes to the beach on Christmas Day. What a special time that was. I remember singing carols in the streets and going to the beach with our Bishop. We were supposed to continue missionary work and keep talking to everyone we met. the little town we lived in Pichilemu blossomed over Christmas vacation (which incidentally was also Summer vacation- what a jip right?). The town of 400 people grew to thousands of tourists and surfers who occupied the thousands of small beach homes during the summer. One of my companions was very scared of talking to people about the gospel (even though she was Chilean and spoke perfect spanish- I should have been the one embarrased of my spanglish). I remember we were supposed to handout 25 handouts a day which usually meant having a charla corta (short chat) with them about gospel principles. I remember we ventured down to the beach on Christmas Eve and as I was stooped down talking to a sun-bather about modern-day prophets, I looked up and saw my companion throwing missionary folletos into the air. Since there were so many people on the beach, the pamplets would float on the wind and float down and land next to someone. I even saw a few people pick them up and open them, but the rest just used them to fan themselves. Needless to say, we had a little chat and I stood next to her for moral support as she practiced approaching total strangers.Christmas was celebrated at midnight on Christmas Eve. It was kind of like a New Years Countdown, and then everyone would open their presents at midnight. Festivities would carry on until 3 or 4 in the morning following which everyone would go home to bed and sleep all day Christmas Day just to wake up in time for lunch and a siesta. We had special permission to stay up late one year and we celebrated with our Mamita who we were staying with and her family. It was very special and family centered. The next morning, however we had to be on the streets by 10 AM and we wandered around looking for anybody to talk to and didn't see a soul for hours. I can remember the smells of the streets near Santiago, the dust in my Doc Martins and the sights of the flea markets. The fresh veggies and the raw meat that was just carried around town on sticks, the flies, the souvenirs, the fake burned CDs, empanadas, completos, the diesel smell of the crowded noisy buses. But Christmas was different. It wasn't white and there wasn't any snow, but it was still and peaceful, like it should be for Christ's birth.
I think my favorite memory of this year and Jack's fourth christmas will be Rudolph. I sang it for Jack right after Thanksgiving and he quickly picked up on it and would sing it for me as I drove him to school. He memorized all the words and can sing them all without any cues. This christmas season, he has sung it for Grandmas and teachers. He sang it in a microphone at our family parties and then sang it following Cori's concert, although that time he lost his place and transitioned into his own version of "transformers..... more than meets the eye." He asked Santa for a rudolph and here he is listening to his new toy for the first time. I love that he is all concerned that the toy rudolph doesn't finish the song. I also love that he doesn't know any of the echoes except for some times "Ho, Ho, Ho and yipee." He sings it so pure and simple. Of course we have yet to capture a good performance on camera but isn't that what happens? I know this is one of those things I will look back on and miss- the year Jack was so facinated by Rudolph.
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