'Twas the Night Before the Leatherkid Christmas

'Twas the night before Christmas, in the Leatherman home.
The tree was still lit, and Zoe Kitty was on the roam.
The stockings were hung o'er the half wall, all four,
Anticipating Santa would fill them per lore.

The Leatherkids were abed, coughing but sleeping,
Cal sucking his thumb, Ella under blankets heaping.
Daddy in his jammy pants, went to bed first,
While I in my Christmas jams, was in a Lifetime movie immersed.

And blogging in parallel, my connection got weak.
Something was amiss, an explanation I should seek.
See, from the backyard, I heard jingling sounds.
I thought, just the neighbor dog, making his rounds.

I made my way to the back door, and peeked out on the lawn,
Didn’t see anything, and let out a big yawn.
Before I had finished, I couldn’t believe my eyes,
When Santa and his reindeer emerged from the skies.
Forty-five Christmases, and this was the first
I’d actually seen the old elf, my mind, ‘bout to burst.

Cal would love this, Ella would be scared,
I recalled this year’s Santa pic, Ella cried, Cal glared.
How will he get inside, I wondered and gaped,
No fireplace in this house, and no entry Santa shaped.
He wasn’t concerned, he’d been here before;
And he made his way toward our garage side door.

He stopped short at the dryer vent and made his way through,
Popped open the dryer door and gracefully out of it he flew.
He then snapped his fingers and his bag of goods appeared,
He grabbed it and smiled and then scratched his beard.

I thought I should pretend I was asleep on the couch,
And let him go about his business pulling gifts from his pouch.
Thinking I was asleep, he’d be his efficient self,
Eating cookies and gifting and meeting Robin the Elf.

So I did just that and watched under droopy eyelids,
Santa tiptoe to the kitchen for what was left by the Leatherkids.
He first read the note Cal left him and quietly chuckled,
Then ate the two cookies and his pants he unbuckled.

He then washed them down with the full glass of milk,
Then sat down at the table, out of a note he would not bilk.
In the Special Plate book, the kids got Santa’s tidings:
“You were good, thanks for the treats, Merry Christmas,” his writings.
On the table he left the letter Cal had sent him weeks before,
Stood up, grabbed his bag and headed toward the front door.

Robin was still perched on a branch in the tree,
“Hi, Santa,” he whispered, “ready for me?”
Santa replied he almost was but had a bit of work to do,
Then pulled out a red bike with a small touch of blue.
“Cal will like this,” he said and placed it by the tree;
“And for Ella, some Princesses will bring her such glee.”
 
He then looked to Robin and gave him a wink,
Off the branch the elf jumped and I felt my heart sink.
He was leaving us ‘til next year, and this made me sad.
It’s nice to talk to him when the kids drive us mad.

Santa and Robin exited just as Santa came in.
The kids were still asleep, so I hoped for no din.
Santa exclaimed it anyway, as his sleigh took flight,
“Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!”