HipNerd

Thanks to the Hip Work Friend, Eric, I volunteered to play Santa Claus for needy kids on Christmas Eve. The very chatty, Sarah, who was my contact at Operation Santa, called me the next day to give me the details. Part of her spiel was that at the end I would feel all warm and glowing inside, knowing I had made some kids’ Christmas. Of course, I knew it was just a pitch—and honestly, when my 12 hour day with Op Santa was all over all I felt was exhausted, and I just wanted to get home.

It wasn’t until later, retelling the events of the day to friends and family, that I did feel a little of that glow. The one memory that will probably stick with me will be the look on the little kids’ faces: literally, mouth agape and eyes wide. Even the bigger kids seemed really happy to see Santa come to their house. Not that I’ll forget some of the more crazy stuff, like being confronted with a barking pitbull in front of one house, and the time the Hip Friend, Jeff, made a joke about famous people with big penises (Uncle Milty, who knew?) that had us both laughing to tears. Speaking of Jeff—I am publicly thanking him here for going on this crazy adventure with me. He did the driving, and I think he had a harder job than I did, driving and keeping the toys organized as best anyone could under the circumstances.