Pedicure for two? Not exactly….

One thing I love about Christmas is receiving gift cards and gift certificates.  Phooey on those who say they’re not personal enough…they never have to be returned for a different size, style, or color and they’re JUST FOR ME! 🙂

This year, I actually got several – two of which were gift certificates for pedicures! YAY!  I love having pedicures and my family knows it. They also know that pedicures are an activity I like to enjoy with my Mom…which is why she also received two pedicure gift certificates. Score!

Not one to let a gift certificate get “cold” in my purse, we decided it was time for a pedicure right away and Mom made an appointment for us to have pedicures together for the Friday after Christmas (or so I thought).  Our appointment was at 1:30pm.  I. Couldn’t. Wait.

I left the house in plenty of time to arrive early for our appointment, so I went through the Cruise-thru to pick up couple of diet Cokes for us to enjoy whilst being pampered (we party hard…).  I then drove up to the salon at exactly 1:25pm, grabbed the Cokes and headed inside.  And what I found inside gave me pause for a moment…

There sat my Mom draped in her heated neck wrap, one foot soaking, one foot being scrubbed, and she was chatting it up with a lady sitting next to her who I think may have been one of my brother’s former school teachers. She was also having a pedicure. Quick assessment: two pedicures were in process at 1:30 with two pedicurists giving the pedicures.  I candidly looked around for my pedicure specialist and didn’t see anyone come out to greet me. Hmmm….

Mom sees me and with her outside voice says (from across the salon), “Robin, I think this chair is where she’s going to have you sit.”  

You remember when you were a kid and the teacher called you out in front of the class and you felt like EVERY SINGLE EYE was on you?  Well, there were at least 8 eyes on me at that moment. Dun, dun, dun….  So I just nodded my “Uh…thanks Ma…” and stepped to the back to select my polish color.

Once the polish was selected, I stepped to the chair my mom had designated for me (just kidding) and sat down. There was no perfectly warmed, soapy water gushing into the tub.  There was still no one rushing out to start my pedicure. There wasn’t even a glance from the ladies working on Mom and her new BFF. Hmmm….

“What pedicure do you want today?” the lady asked my Mom.  “My gift certificate is for the luxury.”   Perfect.  *Sigh*  Must be nice.

As I sat there, I secretly started comparing pedicures – Mom’s and the lady’s beside her.  I’m pretty sure they must have sat down at the same time because they were neck-in-neck (or ankle-in-ankle?) and neither were anywhere close to being ready for polish.  As they chatted, I began to think, “Okay, so I’m going to sit here for the duration of my Mom’s pedicure before they even touch these feet.  Not cool.”  I thought about leaving but didn’t want to cause a scene, so I just sat there hoping the other lady would decide she didn’t actually want her toenails painted at all and would just grab her stuff and leave.  

Nothing doing.

After 25 minutes of watching these fine ladies be pampered, I looked to my mom and said, “Um, I think I’m going to go.  It will be awhile before they can get to me and I can come back another time.”  To which Mom replied, “Well, I’ll wait on you.”  And she would have…because she truly is the sweetest soul in the world. But that wasn’t really the point of MAKING AN APPOINTMENT TO HAVE PEDICURES TOGETHER.

Suddenly, I could feel my father, Max Allman, rising up in me which was my cue to leave. I smiled politely and told the pedicurist I would come back another time.

I’m not gonna lie, I was feeling pretty frustrated as I drove home.  But the more I thought about the entire scene, the funnier it got to me. I started laughing.  Out loud, actually. I mean, stuff like this is what The Riggins’ Life is made of, right?  Why should I be surprised??

We had dinner together with my sweet Mother that evening and I was telling this story to Steve & the boys. Mom turns to me and says, “When you left, the lady asked if you had called to make an appointment.” I looked at my mother and said, “Well, you called to make the appointment.”
Mom – “No, I didn’t. I called your house and asked if 1:30 would be okay…”

Now, indeed, she had called and, via Steve, simply asked if 1:30 was a good time for a pedicure to which I simply replied, “Yes, 1:30 would be perfect”. In MY mind, I thought, “Cool. She’s making an appointment for 1:30.” In reality, she was thinking, “Awesome, Robin will make the appointment for 1:30.” Uh….that’s a new twist to the story. Again, ain’t it great to be a Riggins?

But hey, I still have two gift certificates for pedicures. Mom has one left we can use together (we can conference call to make the next appointment) and Steve is just thrilled that I shaved my legs. 🙂

 

This is not exactly what we expected…..

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas.  Heaven knows, The Riggins’ family surely did!  This is the first year that “Santa Claus” got the credit that he and I were due, so we decided to wrap all of our gifts for each person to be opened individually and in order, rather than the method of years past: Santa’s gifts laid out for the boys to wake up to and rip into, scattering boxes everywhere….all before 6:00am.  

Now that our oldest son, Wes, is married, it’s necessary to “share” he and his bride with Kendal’s family.  Hey, I knew it was coming.  And it’s completely fine (love them!).  So, since Wes & Kendal were spending the early morning with Kendal’s family, I had the GREAT idea to have our boys wait until after brunch to open anything.  Eli gave me the “shucks, Ma!” reaction, but ended up being okay with the idea.  Caleb was wigging out – seriously.  Still, regardless of his begging and his “oh my gosh, Mom” every 5 minutes, I stayed with the plan.  Eventually, around 1:00pm, it was was time to hand out presents!  And we opened presents from each other for nearly an hour! Not that there were THAT many presents (however, we were not lacking in the least), it was just that we took the time to savor every minute of it.

I think the person who enjoyed it the most was actually Caleb.  Oh yes, he did receive very nice gifts, but that’s not what brought him so much joy.  If only I could have captured his face as each family member opened our gifts from him.  Priceless.

Caleb has been putting in a lot of hours lately, working for his friend’s father, and little did we know he had been banking it for Christmas gifts. Let me give you a little peek from last Christmas….as I opened my gift from Caleb, it was polka dotted blanket, Everyone very politely gave their “Awww, that’s sweet…” reaction and Caleb proudly exclaimed, “I got it at Five Below for $5.00!” And then…everyone lost it.  But in the midst of their laughter, I winked and nodded in total pleasure to Caleb.  He knows how his mama loves a good bargain.

So, suffice it to say, we were shocked when we each received the following:

Eli – model of a 1957 Chevy he has been asking for

Wes – a Pelican gun/ammunition case (Wes could NOT stop going on and on about his gift….quite the gift, apparently)

Mom (me) – a gift card for a 1 HOUR MASSAGE at Massage Envy (What???!!!!!)

Dad (get ready for this) – a complete new mega exhaust system for his diesel truck JUST so we could hear it coming from at least 2 miles away (DOUBLE WHAT??!!!!!)!

Wow, wow, wow!  That was all we could say!  And Caleb probably looked as happy as I have ever seen him…even happier than the ones enjoying his amazing gifts.  As I said earlier, PRICELESS.

Every year, I’m sure I’ve just enjoyed the best Christmas of my life.  And this year was no exception.  It was certainly different with the lack of “let’s see what Santa brought us!” and I must admit, that was a somewhat bittersweet.  But early Christmas morning, as I was spending time with the Lord, He gave me the following to share with the boys before the gift giving ensued:

As you see, Christmas is different                                                                                                                                                         But I hope there’s no disappointment here;                                                                                                                                       Being “Santa Claus” for the past 24 Christmases                                                                                                                                       Has been one of the things we hold most dear.

Dad and I have “enjoyed” late night assembly                                                                                                                                       And Christmas Eve runs to find any open store                                                                                                                                   Just so the day you woke up you could find                                                                                                                                     Exactly what you’d asked for

As happy as you all have been tearing into your gifts                                                                                                                             I’m pretty certain we can say                                                                                                                                                                That the most blessed folks sitting in the room each year                                                                                                                 Were the ones who “Santa” got to play.

 Soon enough we’ll start the secret again                                                                                                                                          When grand babies start to arrive                                                                                                                                                        And with remembered joy dad and I will watch their excitement                                                                                                    Knowing why Santa is still alive.

 Just know that above anything on earth we’ve received                                                                                                                    Goes our thanks to God for each of you;                                                                                                                                            And all of our blessings are only because Of Jesus –  the greatest gift                                                                                                     Given solely to save dad, me, and you.

So as not to make any of our children mad, we did get some amazing gifts from Wes & Kendal and Eli, too.  But as Wesley so aptly put it once the dust had settled, “Caleb, this year I think you definitely get “most improved”.  

For. Sure.

 

Merry Christmas from The Riggins!

It has been way too long since I’ve taken the chance to write a blog and oh how I have missed it! Believe me, it’s not for a lack of material…if you could be a fly on our wall! Time just has a way of slipping away and before I know it, another day has come and gone and I’ve not had the time to write.

But enough whining. I simply wanted to share a poem with my sweet friends that The Lord gave me last Saturday morning as I was adding finishing touches to our Christmas program. I hope it will bless you as it did me. I take no credit; I simply typed the words, tears streaming, as the Holy Spirit provided the words.

I Wonder….

I wonder how the angels felt
When they learned Jesus would leave Heaven’s throne

Did they marvel that the Creator would become the created?
Could they understand He was coming for man’s sin to atone?

I wonder how the angels felt
When, looking down on the evil world,

They realized the King of kings would be but a babe;
I wonder if they stood ready to protect; wings unfurled

I wonder if the angels watched excitedly
With anticipation at His birth

I wonder if shouts of celebration rang out in Heaven
When Jesus’ first cry was heard?

I wonder if the angels can fully understand
Just why Jesus had to give such a sacrifice?

Angels who, all day praise and worship their King –
Yet have never been purchased with such a price.

The angels may wonder at all Christ did,
To set sinful captives free;

But may they never out praise the ones He saved;
Yes, Bethlehem was for you and me.

Thank You, Lord for Your gift. Thank You, Lord for my family and friends. Merry Christmas to you all!
Robin