Feeling the Excitement

I walked into the dining room, headed to my computer and stopped short.

I took two steps back, reached around the door frame, and grabbed my phone from its charger in the kitchen. I needed to take a photo.

My seat was taken. It has never been taken before.

What was she doing? Her expression never changed. Mild mannered, sitting in my seat.

Did I turn into a dog?

As I came closer, I realized what she was patiently waiting for.

Her treat that was placed there the night before when she went to bed. The day was anew, and she was ready for her treat.

Penny the Pug was not the only excited little creature in this house today. Yesterday, the elves returned to our house, bringing with them all the Christmas spirit.

We do not have just one Elf on the Shelf. Last year, Declan wanted an entire elf family.

Of course, he did! And so now we have three elves and two pets. This morning they left their first perch in the basement and showed up in our Christmas Stockings, or as Catelyn calls them, our “elf bags.”

This morning something new occurred with the elves. With shaking hands, Declan ran into my room with a piece of paper clutched in his hands.

“They wrote back!”

Confused why the elves chose the basement their first night, Declan wrote them a note asking why they chose the basement. (Truthfully, “they” chose the basement because Declan was upstairs in the kitchen, and I needed a place to put them without Declan seeing me!).

But the elves wrote back, making Declan’s day.

We have felt a sudden shift in the house. No longer is Declan completely focused on Cartoon Network, and it’s various shows through the years, drawing all the different characters.

The Elf of the Shelf has come to town and taken over. Drawings, movies, videos are all centered around Declan’s returning friends and their new form of communication.

And even though Declan breathlessly squeaked out, “the elves are watching you,” when Bobby pinned him to the ground in a sudden wrestling move, Declan sees them more as friends, not tattling little foes.

I can only hope a daily note isn’t required along with remembering to move five different creatures. That may be a bit more than I can take. In the meantime, we will begin to celebrate the fun of the Christmas season!