Christmas is my favorite time of year. One of the fun things to do when your kids are small, is to take a ride on the Polar Express. We have taken the older grandkids for a ride on the Polar Express twice, in two different states.
Our first experience was simply magical. We drove from California to Williams, Arizona. When we were about an hour out of Williams, the snow began to fall. We could not have asked for a better scenario. Excited about the whole experience, we checked into the hotel and all six of us changed into footie pajamas, coats, boots, hats, and mittens, then we headed across the way to the train station. We boarded the train, headed down the tracks, as we were served huge warm cookies and hot chocolate by the characters in the story, and watched the snow continued to fall. After dark we went though a tunnel, lined with millions of red and green twinkle lights. When we came out the other side, there was a cute, yet maybe corny little village lit up with a sign in the center that read ‘North Pole’. We loved watching the kids faces light up as the train stopped at the village. Before we headed back, we were told that we picked up someone special in the village. As the boys waited to talk to Santa and get their own jingle bell on the way home, the characters in the story of ‘Polar Express’ read the story of ‘The Polar Express’, as the boys followed along with their own book. The train slowly headed back through the amazing tunnel and the station while we all sang Christmas carols. Our ride on the Polar Express in Williams, Arizona was absolutely amazing.
The following year, our daughter and son-in-law moved to Tennessee. We found a ‘Polar Express’ a few hours away in Chattanooga, Tennessee. My husband and I flew to Nashville, Tennessee, where the kids picked us up, and we drove to meet the train. We looked forward to the same experience we had the year before as we changed into our footie pajamas and got ready for pictures with Santa and our ride on the Polar Express. As we stood in line for pictures with Santa, we noticed that many of the people in line was staring at us, it was at that moment we realized we were the only ones in pajamas. As we waited, we saw a huge clock on the wall and realized that Tennessee has two time zones, and we had lost an hour in our travels. We popped out of line and headed to the train station, only to find it was an hour away. We rushed off, and barely made the train. When we left the station, we were handed a carton of chocolate milk and a cracker. The train headed to a neighboring city, turned around at a wheelhouse and returned to the station. A teen girl read the story, ‘A Night Before Christmas’ as we passed a few houses with a minimal amount of lights. Sitting on that train, the only six people in footie pajamas, we laughed at each other, at the other people who were too ‘cool’ to dress up, the sorry snacks on the train, Polar Express train … that never made it to the North Pole, and the fact that they didn’t read the story of ‘The Polar Express’. Our daughter pulled out the boy’s copy of ‘The Polar Express’ as all the other children in our train car listened in. The saving grace for our Tennessee trip came when we got back to the hotel. For a small fee, two little ‘elves’ came to our room to tuck the boys in bed. These teens were dressed perfectly from their pointy ears to the curled-up elf shoes. They tore apart the boy’s beds, sang three songs, and then they tucked the boys in, one sheet, blanket, and bedspread at a time. The sweetest little elves left candy canes for the boys and wished them a good night’s sleep.
Best Christmas Eve’s Eve EVER!
It’s funny how we set expectations, in so many situations, the circumstances shatter those expectations and we get frustrated and disappointed. No one else on that train expected a snowy train ride with warm hot chocolate, fresh baked giant chocolate chip cookies, a trip to the North Pole through a magically lit tunnel, sing Christmas carols, or follow along as one of the characters in the book read the ‘Polar Express’ story. We had no expectations for the cute little elves that did a fabulous job as they sang, asked the boys what they wanted for Christmas, and tucked the boys in bed.
‘I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do this though Him that strengthens me.’ Philippians 4:12-13
Managing our expectations was something we hadn’t thought about when it came to the Chattanooga Polar Express. In the end, we did, however, make the best of what we were given. We laughed at the fact that we were the only ones in our pajamas, that the nightmare you have as a child, finding yourself as the only child at school in your pajamas, how the boys were getting wired drinking everyone’s small boxes of Yoohoo chocolate milk, and the fact we could save the wrapped-up crackers for our trip home. We centered our praises on the fabulous little ‘elves’ and talked about the fact that this might be the only place in the world where ‘elves’ would sing and tuck our grandchildren into bed. It was worth every second of people staring at us as we wore our pajamas out in public! What a great memory and an enchanting experience for these little boys.