That Christmas Spirit

If you read yesterday's post, you know that I took my kids up to Oglebay Mansion to meet Santa (the REAL one). The whole enormous place is decorated for the holidays. A guy from Pittsburgh came down to do an ice sculpture on the front lawn. There was a play, and a magician, and crafts. It's a fun time for a mere $6 and only 5 minutes away! :) It's neat. It's possible I enjoy it more than the kids. :)

Isn't the picture of the kids in the ice sleigh completely cool? (hee hee... yes, they WERE VERY COOL in that sleigh! Very cool indeed! They did have little rugs to sit on so I wasn't torturing them that badly in order to get a picture.) :)

Something very nice / nearly traumatic happened while we were there. Matt likes to take his Nintendo DS with him to these things, especially when he knows there will be a long waiting time (like the loooong line to see Santa). We walked in the mansion and I really meant to tell him to put his backpack on his back instead of holding it like a satchel, but I forgot. So, you guessed it, we sat down to watch the magician and got up to leave...without the DS. I looked at him after we'd climbed up 2 flights of steps to get to the theater ensemble, and noticed NO BACKPACK. Which meant, NO DS, and probably 6 games. My heart started to race because NO WAY could I replace all that right now. The whole point of the backpack is so that he doesn't sit the DS down and forget it. I felt horrible.

So, we raced back down the stairs and checked where we were sitting. NO DS. All of us are starting to look somewhat stricken at this point. I asked a volunteer and she said to check the front desk. Back up the steps we go, down a long corridor, through some mobs of tourists, ending up at the front desk.

I gasp, "Was a backpack just turned in?" I have NO hope. SO MANY people are there. What are the odds of an honest one picking it up AND bringing it all the way to the desk that fast? Not very good.

So, when the lady at the desk said, "Why YES, it was," it took us all a moment for her words to register. Matt about cried. So did I because I didn't have to see him brokenhearted on his trip to see Santa. We turned to go back to the festivities and I heard someone say, "Oh! I'm so glad you found it!" IT WAS THE LADY WHO TURNED IT IN! I about kissed her.

It still just warms my heart to think about the EFFORT she went to in order to make sure a little boy wasn't devastated by the loss of a favorite toy. She must have raced faster than we did to get it to the front desk ahead of us. It sure made a big impression on my kids too. I know they'll all do the right thing if they ever find something as expensive lying around somewhere. It was a valuable lesson. Oh, and Matt's lesson to KEEP his BACKPACK on his BACK was highly valuable too. :)

Going to Oglebay Mansion to meet Santa: $6.00
One backpack with DS and games: $250.00
FINDING lost backpack against all odds because of one special person: PRICELESS

Happy kids after Nintendo DS was found: