Sarah Berra is coming to town!

The song “Santa Claus is coming to town” keeps running around my head. However, my brain has changed the words to “Sarah Berra is coming to town”. Yes, Alex’s best friend Sarah, the Sarah Berra of Sarah Berra is coming to visit us. She and her brother Charlie got plane tickets from Santa Claus. This will be better than Santa Claus for Alex.

My daughter, the human calendar, has been planning for this visit for a long time. She has written down her schedule and reminded me on a daily basis about her chores. I found the following note on the kitchen table:

Feb 9th night – do put away

Feb 10th night – bed out with my dad then sheets on the bed

Feb 11th - to come to CO

According to Alex’s schedule, Charlie and Sarah will arrive on the 11th. They are scheduled to land at the Eagle/Vail airport. Luckily, they were able to get direct flights from O’Hare; much easier for a 16 year old and a 13 year old to not change planes in Denver. The only potential problems I see in their travel arrangements are the earthquakes and snow storms that seem to be frequenting the Midwest. Never thought we would be safer here in the mountains!

As documented and promised, Alex cleaned up her bedroom on Feb 9th; it was an awful mess, and took her hours. On the 10th, according to Alex’s piece of paper, she and her Dad will pull out the extra mattress from under her bed for Sarah. Alex will get sheets, make the bed and be fully prepared for her best friend’s visit.

Alex is so excited to see Sarah; she has been on her best behavior. She even asked if we could keep Sarah and send Tommy back to IL instead. I suspect her mother might notice the difference, but it might be worth a try. Kidding – I want to keep Sarah and Tom! Charlie too.

Sarah and Charlie will be here until Monday. Thursday night Alex has her last basketball game. I will be glad when this season is over, it was such a bust. The kids will go to ski school on Friday and Saturday. On Sunday, Alex, Courtney, John and I will ski with them. Tom has a snowboard competition; we will be able to watch that too. A basketball game and a snowboard competition, what an exciting vacation for the Sarah and Charlie!

We are all looking forward to seeing our special friends; they are my “other” kids. I can't wait to see Alex so happy to be with her “best friend” an experience she does not have on a regular basis. There is nothing better than a happy Alex. She becomes animated and mature, really an entirely different person. Wish I could figure out how to have this other Alex live with us full-time!

Thanks Santa Claus, this gift doubled as a great present for our family too!