Max has some holiday wishes for you

I took Max to his annual doctor's appointment yesterday evening. If felt good to do something mundane, a way to take my mind off the Newtown massacre.

Max acted like he owned the office. He greeted the manager, Pat, and noted that his teacher had the same name. He showed one mom and kid a packet of Cars 2 napkins he's been toting around. When a nurse took him back to an exam room, Max asked for a corner one and she obliged, like he was some finicky restaurant patron who needed a better table.

The exam went well. Max is growing nicely. His heel cords are tight, particularly his right one, which his physical therapist has also noted; it may mean another round of serial casting (sigh). Max told the doctor all about his Cars 2 party and our upcoming Disney Cruise.

On the way out the door, Max turned to the staff at the front desk and said something, I couldn't tell what. He repeated it, then again: "Err-ay iss-us!"

Max was saying "Merry Christmas." I told the ladies behind the desk, and they grinned happily. "Err-ay Iss-us!" Max said again, waving as we walked out the door. "Err-ay Iss-us!"

As we headed to the car, I told Max that a lot of people like to say "Happy Holidays."

"No!" said Max. "Err-ay Iss-us!"

"Um, Max?" I said. "We celebrate Chanukah in our family."

"NO!" said Max. "Iss-us!"

"Some people celebrate Christmas, some people celebrate Chanukah, and some people celebrate Kwanzaa," I answered. "We celebrate Chanukah!"

"NO!" said Max. "Iss-us!"

I didn't think Max was having a faith crisis; I suspected he figured he could get more presents if he convinced me we celebrated Christmas, too. I also thought he liked saying "Merry Christmas!" because of the reaction he got.

To be sure, this year Max was really into lighting the Chanukah candles, holding my hand as I lit each one. He downed a whole lot of latkes, traditional potato pancakes that are a handy excuse for carb-holics like me. The other night when I told him to wish the babysitter "Happy Chanukah," he said it super-clearly and it was THE best gift I could have gotten. "Can you tell her again?" I'd asked just to hear the words one more time, and he did.

As I put Max to bed, he looked at me and said, "Err-ay Iss-us!"

"Happy Holidays," I said back, and quickly shut off the lights so he couldn't see me smiling.