Shopping and a Chat with Santa

It was a shopping day yesterday. After mom's rehab, we went to the Stanford Shopping Center (sigh) to have lunch at Max's (delicious, as always) then a search for a Hawaiian shirt for Christmas day (zilch) then a shopping run through Macy's. The best Macy's. Mom found a pair of wool tweed trousers that fit (!!!) and a white blouse to wear under sweaters. She was thrilled. I found three pairs of cords and a sweater. The only problem? I bought two of the pants in petite, which means they are really a size 6! Well, I have never been a size 6 but I crawled into them last night, got them buttoned and zipped up but, alas, they were just too tight. I couldn't believe I even got into them. The one pair of size 8 was perfect. So, on my way into the city today, I am stopping by a different Macy's to exchange the cords. All this was purchased on a gift card from mom for my birthday last month. Big sales!

On our way home, we went by DSW and found a fantastic pair of shoes to wear with the new cords for the winter. These were also purchased on another birthday gift card from Anna and Doug! I spent a lot of money but it didn't cost me a dime! What a day!

While at Stanford, we went to see Santa. He was amazing. His weight, white long hair and full beard were real. His wife made his adorable outfit and he really was Santa. There was a lull, he saw us, waved then came out for a chat. He helps the parents get good photos of their children then, with each and every child no matter the length of the line, he sits and has a talk. That is the most fun to watch. These children just pour their hearts out to him and hug him and just love him. He told us yesterday that sometimes it is hard. He asked one child what he wanted for Christmas, "I just want my parents to stop fighting." Santa eyes welled up with tears while he was telling us this story. He hugged mom and later she remarked that she felt that the hug was from Santa. The real Santa. What a remarkable man.

Today, I am going to the ILD Support Group Meeting. There is going to be a cookie exchange for the holidays and no guest speaker is expected. It will be a meeting of just us. Sometimes, those can be the most interesting. It will be nice to see everyone. I am mentally preparing myself for another ride into the city. Here we go.