As I flip over a new block on our advent calendar each day, it becomes increasingly apparent that Christmas is almost here. I can't believe that it really is that time at last. This week I decided to take some time to create my ideal Christmas list. Here is what I'm wishing for this year:
- A few extra inches of height. At five feet tall, I'm too short to reach boxes of gloves and hats in our closet without knocking them off the shelf first. Supposed "short" length jeans are too tall for me, and still require a cuff or two, or three. In fact, I am forced to buy "petite" jeans over short, because they are twenty eight (rather than thirty) inches long. I'm not asking for anything unreasonable, just two or three inches. As I am approaching my eighteenth birthday, I know that my chances of magically growing taller are slim to none. However, a girl can dream can't she?
- Perfect vision without the aid of glasses or contact lens. I can't imagine how nice it must be to wake up each morning and be able to see clearly. In fact, if I had 20/20 vision, I bet I could get over my fear of sharks. After all, it would be a lot harder for my imagination to run wild if I could say definitively that there were no sharks in my general area while swimming. While Santa may not be able to leave this under my tree this year, I plan to get corrective surgery one day.
- Admission status updates from colleges. The only thing more stressful than filling out the common app and pressing the send button is waiting to hear back!
- The strength and knowledge of a Grand Prix horseback rider. For those of you who ride, you know how valuable this would be. The two foot high fences that I jump would be no match for legs conditioned to soar over fences five feet high or more. I wouldn't have to worry about my position, safe in the knowledge that I was physically and mentally prepared to take on literally anything in the saddle. What a dream!
- A sense of direction. I am notorious in my family for not knowing where I am or where I'm going. I never paid attention to those things as a passenger, and I've certainly paid the price for that. When I passed my permit test and started practicing driving in the summer of 2010, I couldn't even tell you how to get to my house from town. I am proud to declare that I now have the routes to: my home, the high school, the IGA, Key Food, and the barn-that I ride at-memorized. I'm working on everything else. While I love navigation systems as much as the next guy, a mental GPS would be fantastic!
- Artistic ability. I will never forget the day that I discovered my artistic skills were severely lacking. My third grade teacher asked each student to illustrate a character from the tall tale we had read earlier. I was so excited, I even had a vision. I worked quickly, my colored pencils flying across the paper. A line here, a bit of green there, and he was....NOT AT ALL LIKE I'D ENVISIONED HIM!?! He was ugly and definitely not the friendly looking character that I had intended to draw. I later learned that I was not gifted with paintbrushes either. I started using stickers instead of my own art for school projects. It worked well, and I employ that strategy today. I never did learn to draw or paint. Let's just say I earn more points for effort than the beauty of my art work.
Thus, there are quite a few things that I wish could be delivered from Santa's workshop. Unfortunately, he specializes in toys, not miraculous transformations involving height, vision, and sense of direction. I suppose I should add something a bit more realistic to this list.... item number seven will be a sweater, or earrings, or maybe a new pair of boots. Although, do you think the ability to speak French fluently will fit in my stocking?
