back seat conversations...

As much of my time is spent shuttling girls from one event to another, I spend many hours perched in the front seat of our minivan.  What I relish while in this front position is listening to the conversations that go on in the back of the vehicle.  Todays conversation between Margo and Mekdes was delightful and I wanted to share it with you.  It went something like this....
Margo:  Look how loose my tooth is.  Pretty soon the tooth fairy will come.
Mekdes immediately started trying to wiggle her tooth and then stops and asks:  What is a tooth fairy?
Margo:   The tooth fairy takes your teeth and then leaves you money under your pillow.
Mekdes immediately covers her mouth and shouts out:  I don't want the fairy to take my teeth!  I don't want money!  And I don't want them in my room!
Ahh, the nuances of cultural characters!  We will have to cover the tooth fairy with more detail when the time comes!  For now, we have Santa to contend with and the time had come to meet with the toy maker from the North Pole to discuss what we would like him to bring us for Christmas.   The excitement level was high for both Margo and Mekdes and they were squealing with delight as we drove to see Santa.  While waiting in line to see the big man, decisions were being made and changed....then made and changed regarding what they were were going to ask for.  This was obviously a crucial decision and you don't want to blow it by being unprepared when your moment comes!  As we finally approached the jolly fellow in the big, red suit their minds were set and they marched up to declare their wishes.  As you will see in the videos, the Smurf movie and purple boots are what we asked Santa for.  Let's hope he remembers...

There is a funny side note to this story.  As we were standing in line and the girls were trying to decide what to ask for, there was a man with two young girls who walked up behind us.  He was a little rough and clearly felt as if he had drawn the short straw when it came to bringing his girls to see Santa.  His irritability stood out like a sore thumb in a line of people glowing with the holiday spirit!  Shortly after he and his girls arrived in line he received a phone call that decidedly added to his "mood".  Within seconds the expletives were flying out of his mouth and people were literally covering their children's ears!  One father started to sing/shout "up on the housetop reindeer's paw...".  It was all I could do not to break out into hysterical laughter at being caught in this absurd dichotomy that truly warranted a spot in the Saturday Night Live holiday skit line-up!  Standing between the family who was  wearing matching outfits for their Christmas card  photo op with Santa and the man who had a vocabulary that would make a truck driver blush made for a very memorable first visit with the giant elf!