We’ve all been in situations where we don’t want to run into someone – a specific someone – THAT someone. Maybe it’s an ex or a family friend and you know it’ll be awkward when you cross paths. So, you do what you can to avoid it.
If you’re in a store, you duck down other aisles but keep a close eye on them until they leave. Or you rush ahead and hope to get through the checkout before them. In a restaurant, you keep your head down as they pass by and continually avoid turning your head in their direction once seated.
But leave it to Collin to attend a party and be completely clueless about what was going to happen.
It was the Christmas season and Collin, along with his siblings and mom, attended a community pancake breakfast. There was singing and treats given, even people dressed as elves handing out gifts to the kids.
Having a good time, oblivious to the penultimate event of the morning, Collin ate a candy cane while playing with the new solider toy he’d unwrapped. As the sound of excited kids filled the air, an elf came up beside Collin and asked a question that scarred him for years.
“Do you want to be the first to sit on Santa’s lap?”
And with that, Collin shouted No! and hid under the table, crying in fear – for the rest of the morning. He didn’t reemerge when Santa was already seated across the room at a safe distance, nor upon Santa’s departure from the event. Collin wouldn’t come out until almost all the guests had departed and it was only the parent volunteers helping to clean up.
All told, Collin suspects he remained under the table for a full hour, shaking in fear without anyone attempting to calm his nerves. That’s right, even Collin’s mom let her crybaby stay hidden during the festive gathering.
To this day, no matter what kinds of gifts he’s offered, Collin will not sit on an old man’s lap. Although…