Sneaky Alyssa

“I don't know why I'm so tired,” I yawned loudly. “I know it was almost one before I got all the presents wrapped and you finished up outside, but we still got at least five hours of sleep. I feel like I just went to bed.”

Moe reached an arm around and snuggled me closer into his side, still holding the video camera in his other hand so he could record the fun Kami was having pushing her new baby-doll stroller around the family room. She was making slow progress, since the floor was littered with crumpled wrapping paper, opened boxes, and sleeping people. Holly was sacked out on the other couch, but Alyssa was curled up on the floor, surrounded by her opened presents, and so were Stephen and Russell. Krissi wasn't helping Kami much, either. Every time Kami tried to push the stroller past her, she shoved it in the other direction. Krissi may have been a year and a half younger than Kami, but since she'd turned one she'd figured out how to hold her own and stand up for herself.

“I'm surprised it not light outside yet,” Moe commented, trying to see through the lace curtains covering the window. “It's not overcast, is it?”

“I don't think so,” I replied, squinting at the dark beyond the curtains, too.

“I sure thought the sun came up earlier than this,” Moe wondered.

“So did I,” I replied. “Oh, well, the girls are having fun with their dolls right now. Still, I can't wait for it to get light enough for them to see what's outside in the back yard. I thought they'd barely be finished opening their presents before they saw the surprise.”

Although all the boxes and packages under the tree had been pulled out and opened, there was still one more present waiting for the little girls out in our back yard. Santa had brought a brand new swing set to our house for Christmas this year. Moe had worked long into the night setting it up so the little girls would see it as soon as the sun came up. We'd got up at 6:30, knowing that by 7:30 it would start getting light outside, but the clock on the wall in the family room showed it was getting close to 8:00, and it was still pitch black.

I yawned again, looking over the Christmas mess covering our family room. By the looks of things, it appeared that everyone was happy.

“Knock, knock,” Grandma and Grandpa Russell said as they pushed the double doors leading into their side of the house open. “Merry Christmas!”

“Grandma, grandma!” Krissi and Kami chanted, jumping up to give her a hug. “See what Santa brought!”

Grandma laughed, and came in the room to see the girls dolls. Grandpa followed, stopping to let Stephen show him his new binoculars, and to look at Russell's camouflaged pajamas.

“You guys are up early,” I said with a laugh when mom came to sit down by me. “I hope we didn't wake you up with all our noise.”

“No, you didn't bother us at all,” mom laughed contentedly. “We've been laying in bed for half an hour, thinking it was time to get up and come watch the kids open their presents, but it looks like we missed all the fun.”

“Yes, they're pretty much done now. Except the surprise out in the back yard. We're waiting for it to get light, but I'm sure surprised how late it is.”

“It's only 6:45,” mom laughed. “We got up at 6:30, like we always do. The sun doesn't come up until after 7:30, you know.”

“What time is it?” I asked in surprise, looking back up at the clock. “I thought it was almost eight.

“No, it's almost seven,” mom assured me.

“What on earth?” I exclaimed, turning to Moe. “What time does your watch say?”

“I haven't put it on yet,” he said, just as surprised as me. “The clock says it's nearly 8:00, though. What time does the kitchen clock say?”

Stephen jumped up and ran into the kitchen, calling back to us, “It says it's right before 8:00, too.”

“What's wrong with our clocks?” I asked in some confusion. “I'm sure our alarm-clock upstairs said it was 6:30 when we got up.”

“Well, my watch says it's 6:53 right now,” mother told me laughingly. “I think something must be wrong with your clocks.”

Finally, Alyssa couldn't stand it any longer. She rolled out of her blankets and started laughing.

“What did you do, Alyssa?” I demanded, a sneaking suspicion beginning to dawn in my brain.

“I set the clocks ahead an hour,” she admitted, laughing all the while.

“All of them?” I asked, realizing just how much work she had to do to trick us so thoroughly.

“Yup, all of them,” she admitted proudly. “It worked, too.”

Well, she really had done it that time. Alyssa was like me. She never could sleep soundly on Christmas Eve, and she always woke up early and hated waiting for the rest of the family to get up. This year, she figured out a way to get us moving earlier. No wonder it was still dark outside, clever little duck!