She's a Tough Cookie, That Willa.

Despite the scowl, Willa was in a great mood last Saturday when she came up to the St. Nikolaus Markt to visit me at the booth and meet St. Nick. She was having the time of her life, running free through the crowds of people, talking up a storm, laughing like I have never seen her do before. But the moment they met, her demeanor turned flat. I wasn't totally surprised by her fear. My mom has a photo of Chris and me with Santa that was taken when I was about Willa's age, and I'm beet red and screaming for my life. But I didn't really expect this particular reaction from her. She didn't resist it. She paid the man behind the camera and walked cautiously toward the brown-bearded stranger. And when I placed her in his lap, she sat perfectly still, eyes fixed somewhere in the space between the photographer and me, and waited for the torture to end. When it did, she bounced right back to her lively old self. I am amazed that this tiny a person can possess such fortitude! Such composure! So much for a good first impression. Oh well, like Sean says, coal is underrated.