What Have I learned? Patience and Persistence

We went to see Santa Saturday. Now we usually go down to Carew Tower to see Santa. This is as close to a tradition as my ADD mind can come to. Why Carew Tower?
1)It is downtown. We are downtown kind of people, so that makes this the "real Santa".
2)We go to lunch afterwards.
3)Carew Tower was the model for the Empire State Building, so we pretend we are in NYC.

Now, many of you also know that I have evolved over the years. I have moved from a kind of general belief that things will work out to a third reich kind of event planning. For instance, the man who once moved from Mass. to Pgh, into a fourth story apartment, with the idea that I would arrive and "hire" some kids from the local basketball court to move me in now, that very same man, loads the kid's gear in individualized baggies, complete with back up gloves, in order to hit the slopes exactly at the first lift for two hours of skiing, followed by premade, customized lunches at 11:30 and a trip home for nap at 1:15. You know, that guy.

The plan was ,Santa starts at 10 am according to researched website. We will arrive at 10:30, thereby showing how relaxed we are. Quick talk with Santa, of course, I had the kids practice ahead of time. Who will be in downtown Cincinnati on an early am? 10:55--we leave Santa and casually stroll around the ice rink. 11:25--arrive for our lunch reservation at Palomino and beat the crowd so that we are guaranteed a window seat.

So what did we find:

1)11:10 Santa arrives
2)Santa works with ONE (1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1)-twelve year old kid who sets up the picture, takes the pictures,prints the picture, sells the pictures and organizes the line. Kind of like a McDonalds with one employee for fries, shakes etc
3)People at the front of the line with vouchers that let them go to the head of the line because they got turned away last night
4)Line down the entire length of the hallway
5)Did I mention the kids?
6)Notice in the picture that red eye reduction only partially works for Sanata

But you know what, it was great.

1)Got to meet the guy in line behind us
2)Saw some kids get their picture taken
3)Chance for us to be together
4)Chance to teach the kids that you can't plan for everything and you need to be "Semper Gumby".
5)Got to do fun stuff like make a mad dash for a double potty break and still get back to the line before our turn.

I would not have been so patient in the past. I would not have been so persistent in the past. Traithlon requires both of these attributes and they just might help life a little.

Ok truth be told, we were still earlier than most folks and actually started near the front, As for the folks in the back of the line-- I understand many of them converted to Judaism and Islam after a fight broke out between two families that were contemplating conversion (?) to Buddhism.