A coworker was talking about The Elf on the Shelf tradition and how this was the first year his family was trying it. Every night, your elf magically flies to the North Pole to report to Santa about your behavior that day and when you wake in the morning, he's found a new place to sit to keep his eye on you. I thought, this would be perfect for the two boys, especially Tate who would truly see the magic. I didn't think Owen would even give a flip, to be honest. Boy was I wrong. Owen keeps his eye closely on Tate to make sure Tate doesn't touch Buddy (that's the name they came up with) lest Buddy would lose his magic. "You can't touch him, Tate! He'll lose his magic and won't be able to fly!" Any bad behavior by Tate has Owen immediately reporting to Buddy, "Tate is on the naughty list today!" I've even caught him having whispering conversations with the elf, telling him what he wants for Christmas. I pray Roger and I already know about these little "secrets" so we can get it taken care of - don't want any surprises! The book that comes with the elf, shares different ideas about how you can be good, including a picture of kids praying. Tonight, as we sat down to begin our spaghetti dinner, Owen says (while glancing at the elf out of the corner of his eye), "Don't you think we should pray first?" "Why yes, that's a great idea," I say as we fold our hands and prepare to say grace. He waits a couple of minutes and asks if he can pray for someone who has died? Roger and I look at each other, "Of course". "I think I'm going to pray for your Grandma, Mommy: Dear God, please get Mommy's Grandma out of heaven real soon!" It took all we had not to choke on our laughter. He had his eyes closed, his head bowed, and his hands folded and was praying with such sincerity. I think Buddy will have good things to say tonight when he reports to St. Nick.
