New Traditions

Last year at this time I was 39 weeks pregnant and I vividly remember being woken up, after I had just fallen asleep, by the sounds of multiple firetruck sirens parading up and down our street. In a panic I sat up in bed and tried to comprehend all that was happening. Was there a neighborhood fire? Should I evacuate Ava and the animals? Were there terrorists ambushing our street? I ran to the window in a confused state and instead of answers, found more questions. Why are there adults dressed like elves running up and down the street? Why is there a giant sled and man dressed as Santa on top of an ambulance? What is going on?!? Ben assured me that everything was ok and told me to go back to bed. The next day I texted my neighbor Anne and discovered that our neighborhood participates in a toy/canned food drive parade of sorts every year. 'Maybe this should be posted on a welcome to the neighborhood flyer' I thought.

Anyway, this year there were signs posted around the street letting people know that Saturday was parade day. This year we were going to be prepared. So we collected all our canned goods and camped out on the driveway. Ava was blissful for many reasons. She had her parents all to herself, she had hot chocolate, and Ben taught her how to ride her bike down the driveway. We explained to her what was going to happen but we weren't really prepared.

It was almost 10 by the time the commotion started. You can hear the sirens from far away and anticipation builds as they get closer and closer. Then we had a front row seat. Four firetrucks, two ambulances, and a bus filled with adult elves come racing around the corner. Did I mention there's a santa in a giant sleigh on top of one of the ambulances? The elves jump out of the bus and race up and down the street collecting their goodies. With great pride Ava carried her big bag down to one of them and joyfully received two candy canes for her efforts. We sat on camping chairs all bundled up and watched our neighbors come out of their houses.

Last year I may or may not have tried to convince Ben that we should send a very angry letter to whoever thought up such a ridiculous idea. But this year I loved every minute of it and I can't wait to have it be a part of our Christmas traditions.