Sunday, December 19, 2010

Take me away from it all *please*

I had an interesting day...
I usually do not share religious thoughts as to avoid offending folks but...

I was invited to a toy giveaway by someone special to me. He was inducted into a biker gang and this was his first mission - giving toys to children in need. Anyways, my kids and I were invited to come and support him on his special day. So we went. Here's where it all went wrong.

Let me outline some of the worst 2 & 1/2 hours of my life:

1. Wrong, wrong, wrong.
We were given a nonexistent address and showed up at the wrong place at the right time. At this point I should have turned around and went home but I thought, NO, it's a puzzle and I will figure it out. What was I thinking?

2. I thought they said 400 kids!
There seemed to be an expectation that 400 children would be there. NOPE! When I found the place, I knew from the line, they definitely overbooked. LOL. Again, I should have turned around...

3. Separation anxiety.
As we entered the building (a church) Kids were ushered to the left and adults to the right. it didn't sit well with me. I don't like to be separated in a crowd so large. It's not natural. I could barely see the in the sea of millions *it seemed*

4. That can't be...
Santa. Huh. He looked like a woman. I don't know. There's not a lot I can say here. It was just weird.

5. The re-enactment
There was a play-like something or another midway through this debacle complete with Mary, Joseph and the birth of Jesus. It was interesting. That's all I can say.

6. Oh no they didn't!
The second re-enactment was of Pontius Pilates soldier forcing Jesus to carry the cross. Now, I attended Catholic school, so this was not far from the norm for me but... The soldier was poking Jesus with his sword and the noises Jesus made were very realistic. Many of the younger children were frightened and began to cry. To make things worst, Jesus climbed the alter and was then nailed to the cross. From my angle, I could see the spokes were under his arms but it was too much for a lot of the kids to bear. An outburst of tears ensued...

7. Why am I still here?
They line the kids up for the toys (Yes, I am leaving things out. There was preaching and "you will all go to hell is you do not accept Jesus Christ as your lord and savior talk" but some things don't need to be mentioned) and of course the rough element all bust to the front to claim a gift. My children, the little angels, sat quietly awaiting their turn to be called up and get a toy. After parental intervention, one received a tiny teddy bear and baby books, another received a spring (fake slinky) and the other a pack of dominoes. Can I say lame?

What did I learn?
I learned that I should never go anywhere without doing research, even for the ones I love. I may not even answer the phone if he ever calls again. LOL. J/K.
I feel like my kids took away some important lessons though. That was definitely a learning experience for them.

We got out of there as quickly as we could and rushed home to wash away the sinful day. Never again, no more.

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