There's Snow Place Like Home For The Holidays

Easy Mornings

     Win woke up to the trills of "Daddy! Daddy! Daddy" before the weight of his 7-year-old daughter plopped on top of him. Win knew Tess was trying to wake him up, but wanting to tease her, he wrapped her up in a bear hug, caging her with his arms and rolled over so his head was on her stomach, trapping her. He then proceeded to fake snore while he used her as a pillow.

     Tess flopped around giggling, trying to wriggle out from under her dad's head. "Daddy, wake up!" she said exasperatedly, shaking him.

     Win tightened his hold around Tess and nuzzled her like a cat. "Don't wanna," he said sleepily.

     Tess sighed. "But daddy! Nana made breakfast and Uncle Bright said he would take me to the beach to collect seashells so we can make more Christmas ornaments to hang up," she whined.

     Win grumbled and moved his head to the side so he could look at Tess. "It's too cold to go to the beach, Tess. And I thought we did all the decorations already."

     Tess pouted. "Nana said it would be nice if we made some and put them up, in addition to the ones we already put up. Besides, Uncle Bright said there is still the outside to decorate, and Uncle Bright said that I can wear a snowsuit and boots to keep warm at the beach, and Nana said that you used to go with her every year to collect seashells in the wintertime. So if you could do it in the cold, then I can do it too, right?"

     Win raised an eyebrow. "When did Bright become Uncle Bright?"

     Tess thought about it. "Should I not call him uncle, daddy? I thought it was respectful since he's around all the time, like nana."

     Win closed his eyes and let it go. "No, Tess. You're right, it is more respectful. You can call him uncle if you want to, baby. We'll talk about the beach over breakfast. Go ahead and run along and I'll get up and dressed, okay?"

     Tess smiled. "Okay, daddy," she said crawling up and giving him another hug. "I love you."

     Win gave a loud groan of, "I love you, too," as he wrapped her up again and trapped her in another bear hug. "No, daddy! Not again!" She giggled breathlessly.

     "Before I let you go," Win wagered. "I want kisses right here," he said, pointing to his cheek. Tess smiled and giggled, and gave her dad a kiss on the cheek before trying to sit up, but Win held tightly to her, not letting her go. "And another one right here," he said, pointing to the other cheek. Tess rolled her eyes in exasperation and leaned down to kiss his other cheek, and he used the distraction to dig his fingers in her sides and tickle her.

     His heart expanded as his daughter's sweet laughter bounced off the walls. After a few moments of her wriggling from his tickles, he finally let her go. "Okay, okay, go on and I'll be down in a minute," he said.

     Tess hopped up with giggles and sped from the room so Win could get ready, knowing the sooner he came down and talked to her nana and Uncle Bright, the sooner that she would know if she could go to the beach and collect seashells.

     Win got up and took a quick shower and got dressed before heading down to find his mom and Tess sitting at the kitchen table waiting for him. He'd already gotten used to Bright being a constant presence and was surprised he wasn't there, but there was no way he was going to suffer his mother's self-satisfied look when he asked about where he was so he kept his curiosity to himself. Instead, he focused on Tess playing near the sandy beaches in the frigid cold. "Mom, don't you think it's a little cold for beach ventures?"

     Lita shrugged. "We used to go every year when you were little."

     "And I froze my butt off every year," Win added.