The Toy Show that toyed with my emotions but Santa perked me up.

 
Aoife and myself all set for the RTE Late Late Toy Show

The Late Late Show is an Irish weekly TV programme, broadcast live by RTE, the national state broadcaster. 
This show also happens to hold the record for the longest running chat show in television history, globally. 
Every Christmas RTE devote one show entirely to toys and showcase a big interaction between them and children. It's a big custom in Ireland for your kids to be allowed stay up to watch it (usually 9:30-12am). 

So last night, the Murphy family had the Christmas tree up, the house decorations all set. 
Aoife had our assorted sweets and jelly babies in her party bowls. We were all set !!!

Or were we?

Well, speaking again with the benefit of hindsight, I wasn't set at all but didn't know it at the time. 
About 15-20mins into the show last night, I got a horrible sensation, not in my stomach, but in my mind. 
A heavy tension, discomfort, but not a pain. Then it went to my mind. Initially I just felt totally confused by it. 
Then it hit me, like an express train that didn't know when to stop and wasn't going to !!

My mind raced back to when I, as a kid watched this exact show, with my own parents, not a care in the world. 
I then glanced immediately at Aoife cuddled beside me. Her Santa hat on, munching her party sweets. 

Then, that haunting thought gate crashed and flashed across my own thoughts: 
"I hope I'm better next year". 
 
With that I was on the slippery slope. With my cousins in the living room with us, I had to make my excuses and announce I'm off to bed for the night. I ran up the stairs as fast as I could. I bust into tears just before I got to our bedroom door. This whole episode sneaked up on me this evening. I was kicking myself that I should have been ready for it, but I wasn't. 

With Alison, Aoife and my cousins downstairs (and they needed to be there for Aoife), I don't mind admitting here that last night I cried myself to sleep. Then I woke up at 4am this morning, and got upset again.  
If there were ever a 'perfect storm' for my emotions to throw a wobbler, last night would appear to be it. 
Those in the know tell me to go with it and let it out and that I'll do. But when it's happening live, it's horrible-horrible-horrible !

I perked myself though by running my mind through an annual plan I'm part of. 
Over the past few Christmas's I do what I call my own little version of the Toy Show. 
This year will be my 4th Christmas involved with bringing Santa to Aoife's School. 
For the past 4 years Santa has flown into the school by turbine helicopter. 
If all goes to plan, this year will be no different. 

Coincidentally, this plan involves flying the aircraft into a local landing site (we have 2 Santa's waiting here at the same time). We pick up Santa #1 and fly him into Aoife's School, then promptly take off again, return to our local landing site and pick up Santa #2 and drop him into a school in a suburb of Dublin, then promptly fly back to the hangar the chopper is based at. 

Why did I say coincidentally? 
The landing site for the two Santa swaps is also the home of my friend but also my oncologist staff nurse Jackie, and has been since the inception of this project. 

Below is some footage you may like to see. I bolted my GoPro camera to one of the helicopter skids to capture it. 

  
Click the link below to watch the 2013 arrival of Santa to Aoife's School. 
(Duration 3mins 48secs)


Thanks as always for reading my blog. 

 


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