The best presents ever!

Christmas came faster than any of us expected and on that morning my mom woke me up before it was even daylight.

"Moooomm.. ughh.. it's not even light out yet!" I whinned

"I know! But it's CHRISTMAS!! You can go back to sleep later... now get up!" She exclaimed all cherry.

I love Christmas, but I hate that my parents wake up before the chickens and think that my brother and I are still kids and LIKE to get up before the crack of dawn. She stood in my doorway with her morning cup of coffee and it was obvious she wasn't leaving until she saw me stir. I groaned once more and finally got up.

"Let me atleast pee first.. geeeezz" I mumbled as I walked past her. I am NOT a morning person, and it doesn't matter if it WAS Christmas.. I still wanted to sleep in.

After throwing water on my face, I emerged feeling a little more awake. I opened the bathroom door to see my father standing there urging me to hurry up. I swear, at Christmad time, it's like my parents switch places with me and my brother and THEY'RE the kids that morning.. just begging to open gifts.

Hours later, we were all finished opening gifts and decided to make breakfast. My brother was busy playing with some new gadget he had gotten so I helped my mom in the kitchen. The rest of the day was spent taking naps, snacking on Christmas sweets and admiring the new things we all got.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Two days later I crawled out of bed around noon and wondered into the living room. On the TV stand was a note from my parents (since they both went back to work already).

"J~ Was going to wake you up to say Happy Birthday, but we know you love to sleep in. Don't bother trying to sneak a peak at your bday gifts.. we took them with us to work. Give 1 of us a call whenever you get up and tell us what you want to do today, we're both leaving early so we should be home around lunch time. Love, Mom and Dad"

I chuckled as I put down the note and continued to the couch. Did they really think I was going to try to sneak a peek at my presents? That just ruins the surprise. I checked the clock again and realized they both would probably be home soon so instead of bothering to make something for breakfast I decided to shower and be ready when they got there. About 45 minutes later they were home and I still had no idea what I wanted to do. I always wanted a dog, so I suggested going to one of those dog rescue places we'd seen around town and get one. After much pleading and begging (with my brother's help of course) they finally gave in and we all piled in the car. We decided to eat lunch first, since all of us were already hungry, then head over to a local pet rescue facility about 15 minutes away.

After a great lunch at Olive Garden (hhmmm.. love their alfredo!!) we arrived at the facility and as soon as I stepped out of the car I saw the dog I wanted immediately. She was a black lab mix puppy (not sure mixed with what, since she looked 100% black lab to me and to everyone else) with just a small white patch on her chin. I decided to call her Pepper and after filling out all the paperwork, we were on our way home. My dad dropped my brother and mom off with the dog so he and I could go out and get a crate, dog food and toys for Pepper to play with. The lady told us Black Labs are known to chew A LOT so to make sure there were plenty of toys for her to play with and until she's much older, don't leave her alone in the house uncrated. Otherwise, we'd come home to the whole house chewed up.

Pepper quickly became a part of the family and was (overall) a joy to have around. We fould out very soon what the lady meant by 'they chew a lot'. In just a matter of a few weeks, she had eaten 5 pairs of shoes, a pair of pantyhose, a 24 pack of big red gum, a $5 bill and a gold bracelet. Luckily, we were able to get the pantyhose out before she had swallowed them completely and none of the rest of the stuff required a trip to the vet. What goes in.. eventually comes out.. and all in 1 piece too!

Before I knew it, the break was over. The night before returning I realized that I never did figure out what to do about O'Neil. I was surprised that I was able to not think about him throughout the whole break, but now, I was starting to get anxious about my return to school. I laid in bed that night praying something would happen that I wouldn't have to ride the bus. I prayed that my mom or dad would offer to take me to school, though I knew that wouldn't happen. They had to be at work way before I had to be at school. I became so angry that I prayed that a house would fall on his and he wouldn't be able to come to school. That maybe HE had to get a ride other than the bus. The last thing I remember before falling asleep was praying a miracle would happen.

I was awoken the next morning by my mom telling me to get up. That I HAD to watch the news. My first thought was,, Geezz Mom.. it's 6:00 in the morning! I dont' have to be up so early! And what do I care whats on the news right now?!! But she persisted so I turned on my T.V. I couldn't figure out what was so damn important that I had to wake up to see, but I soon found out.

"Breaking News! The local middle school was set on fire sometime early this morning and is still blazing. The Fire Department responded to a call around 3am and they are currently still trying to get it contained. It is evident that students will not be permitted inside the building today and we're still waiting to hear how bad the damage actually is..." I turned off the T.V. as the news reporter trailed on and sat there with my mouth hanging open. I couldn't believe it! My prayers were answered! At least I'd have another few days to think of something! That was the best Christmas/Birthday present I could ever ask for.