Monday 14 December 2015

Christmas 1984

Canada Dry, stacks of it, Lemon's glut, piles of crisps.
Early knocks, neighbour calls. New dolls, new blocks, new bikes and all.
In all my years in Lehenaghmore, Santa didn't ever leave a bicycle
with a pump, and, since my father cycled to work, on Christmas morning
he was sought by children on our road and often from further on.
I remember him, one Christmas Eve, checking his were in order
thinking there might be a bike due at the O'Connors'.
He was right, of course. I had confessed:
Thomas had shown me the treasure trove in the back of their hot press.

My parents rented a video player, a week for five pounds.
and before we returned the rentals they had to be rewound.
There were three or four of us then, at least us first three girls
of the six we are in the end, four girls and two boys in all.
The three of us, silent, snuck like ninjas up the hall in the night,
breathless in suspense as we touched the wall as a guide.
Our dad in our path, quickly whirled us right
around and laughed, "Get back to bed, it's still Christmas Eve ."
The magic fish in the crackers took over our dreams.

Tuesday 1 December 2015

All Aboard

Yelling numbers, like "two four twenty"
or "loadsa hundred" at Nuala Carey.
I don't think they feel we'll win,
it's more the surreal recognition
that if the Lotto is on it's late
and yet they're up and wide awake.

This Saturday, it's The Polar Express.
I avoid the parts that I expect
I will cry at by serving refreshments.
Of course it's this Yule event
that weights everything with meaning.
That line at the end as the train is leaving:
It's not about where it will stop
but deciding whether to get on.
When they catch me in these outbursts
they ask things that make me worse:
What age will they be when they die
and how did Nana Betty get in the sky.
So it's best that I plate up the bites
and make good memories on movie nights.
All aboard, indeed, follow that star,
I'd have never believed before getting this far.

And, their favourite part of the show?
"When all the numbers came up in a row."

(Explanation: Saturday night is our movie night, as in the children get to stay up a little later than usual to watch either a DVD or a movie on TV if RTÉ have a good one for their 'Big Big Movie.' If the TV show is the choice then there's a break in it for the Lotto. My children just love the Lotto. And honestly, I don't even think they know that you can buy tickets for it.
For the last few weeks it's been all Christmassy movies, I can't watch certain parts without bawling. Even the two weeks we watched the 'Home Alone' films saw me blubbing at the endings.)