The "W" in Christmas

A friend sent this to me and I knew it was worth sharing.

The "W" in Christmas

Each December, I vowed to make Christmas a calm and peaceful experience.  I had cut back on nonessential obligations - extensive card writing, endless baking, decorating, and even overspending.

Yet still, I found myself exhausted, unable to appreciate the precious family moments, and of course, the true meaning of Christmas.

My son, Nicholas, was in kindergarten that year. It was an exciting season for a six year old.  For weeks, he'd been memorizing songs for his school's "Winter Pageant."

I didn't have the heart to tell him I'd be working the night of the production. Unwilling to miss his shining moment, I spoke with his teacher. She assured me there'd be a dress rehearsal the morning of the presentation. All parents unable to attend that evening were welcome to come then.

Fortunately, Nicholas seemed happy with the compromise.

So, the morning of the dress rehearsal, I filed in ten minutes early, found a spot on the cafeteria floor and sat down.  Around the room, I saw several other parents quietly scampering to their seats.

As I waited, the students were led into the room. Each class, accompanied by their teacher, sat cross-legged on the floor. Then, each group, one by one, rose to perform their song.

Because the public school system had long stopped referring to the holiday as "Christmas," I didn't expect anything other than fun, commercial entertainment songs of reindeer, Santa Claus, snowflakes and good cheer.  So, when my son's class rose to sing, "Christmas Love," I was slightly taken aback by its bold title.

Nicholas was aglow, as were all of his classmates, adorned in fuzzy mittens, red sweaters, and bright snowcaps upon their heads.  Those in the front row- center stage - held up large letters, one by one, to spell out the title of the song.

As the class would sing "C is for Christmas," a child would hold up the letter C. Then, "H is for Happy," and on and on, until each child holding up his portion had presented the complete message, "Christmas Love."

The performance was going smoothly, until suddenly, we noticed her; a small, quiet, girl in the front row holding the letter "M" upside down - totally unaware her letter "M" appeared as a "W".

The audience of 1st through 6th graders snickered at this little one's mistake. But she had no idea they were laughing at her, so she stood tall, proudly holding her "W".  Although many teachers tried to shush the children, the laughter continued until the last letter was raised, and we all saw it together.

A hush came over the audience and eyes began to widen.  In that instant, we understood the reason we were there, why we celebrated the holiday in the first place, why even in the chaos, there was a purpose for our festivities.

For when the last letter was held high, the message read loud and clear:



"C H R I S T W A S L O V E"

And, I believe, He still is.

Amazed in His presence... .humbled by His love.

HAVE A BLESSED CHRISTMAS SEASON!

The "car rider" line

One of my friends posted on her FB page about a golf cart who cut in the car rider line at school.  She was annoyed, and joined by several friends who had been witness to the same affront at different times. 

Having been subjected to the dreaded car rider line myself recently, my sympathy was probably lacking for the entire situation.  

It has taken me three years to grasp the concept of the car rider line.  "When I was that age"... we walked to school. Or rode our bikes.  There was no chauffeur service to deposit us on the front doorstep of secondary education, or whisk us off after the last bell.

By second grade, I was responsible for getting myself home from school.  By third grade, I made my own breakfast and got myself out the door for the 1+ mile walk.  Only the limits of my imagination could encompass the possible penalty of failing to achieve the objective, or taking a detour.  There was no driver, and the worst danger we feared (aside from the wrath of Mom) was the dog behind the fence of the house in the alley.

Eventually, school was too far away to ride our bikes and we became bus riders. But the routine didn't change: get self out of bed on time, feed self, dress self, get out the door on time or else.

Today, the school district kindly provides bus transportation to every student in the district regardless of location. During enrollment, the only options are "bus rider" or "car rider".  No "walk" or "bicycle", or "none of the above". 

Some parents just cannot bear for their little darlings to ride the bus, but from my experience, it is a perfectly acceptable option.  No need to waste time or money for gas just for the opportunity to be a chauffeur for a day.

But here I sit, my own little darling having lost her bus privledges for the week due to poor choices.  It is not pleasant for either of us.  The lines of cars parked waiting on both sides of the road, the parents parked in the grass, the off-duty officer directing traffic.  Every day.  Seriously?

At least it gives me time to think.  Maybe too much time....

I love December because...

Work is amazingly slow.  So I get to take a break to do things like address Christmas cards.  And fold laundry.   Maybe even get a warm beverage, soft fuzzy socks, and a nap.  Makes up for all those days where I got started at 6:30 a.m. and worked through lunch.

I love warm South Texas Decembers.  47 degrees out this morning.  No frost, no sliding around or frozen locks.  A good sweater is all you need.  We can take the open trolley to see Christmas lights and still enjoy ourselves.

I love December for the good food.  Comfort food.  Soups, hot breakfast, family recipes and yummy stuff that you could eat all year, but just don't.  I love the music. I love that it is my baby girl's birth-month.  I love that this month is about our Savior.

I didn't do it on purpose!

If you must know the truth, I am an impulse shopper at heart.  Even when I shop around and do my homework for something I really want, it was an impulse that started it in the first place.

God meets all of my needs.  Hands down.  I have way more than I need and I have been making a solid effort to scale back and give more, want less, and honestly I am much happier with the simpler lifestyle.

We started off not really looking for a car.  In fact, I really didn't want to even talk about it.  But it is time to trade in the gray Pontiac and get something else.  Didn't know what I wanted so I looked at trucks, suvs, cars, and several sizes makes and models.  I certainly had no intention of actually buying a car.  In fact I told the first salesman there was "no way" I was committing to anything today.

Next dealership.  Here we go again. Nope, not buying, just looking. Don't want anything gray.  I have owned at least 2 gray cars and am really tired of gray.  Nope, that one costs too much.  Too many miles on that one.  Orange, are you kidding me?  Drive it?  Sure, why not.., no way we're buying it, but I can at least drive it once.

There is nothing, not one thing, practical about this car.  I have made practical decisions my entire life.  But this is FUN.  And maybe a little selfish.  Like when Mom bought an Rx7 when she still had 2 girls at home to shuttle around.  OhmygoshIammymother'sdaughter.

So I feel a teensy tinsy bit guilty.  Do I "need" this car?  Probably not. But will I love it and tell people that it keeps me young?  You bet!

Paper scraps

I recently started making cards again.  Not sure why, but I think I was inspired by a photo and decided to duplicate it.   I really like the way it turned out.

One thing led to another and I decided to use up some supplies. I have a LOT of supplies.  I made up about 4 more "sets" of cards that I plan to give as gifts.  Then I dug out more paper, found a sketch I liked, and kept right on cuttin' and gluin'.

   

I don't really have the working space I used to have and that does create a small challenge, but on the other hand, I don't leave all my stuff out.  A place for everything and everything in it's place.  Seems to be working pretty well.  I only temporarily lost my coluzzle for about 10 minutes then found it.  Even had the right color re-inkers.  Cool.

Now just need people to give/sell/send these cards to.  

Doorbells

It should surprise no one that my husband is easily amused.  I guess that is one of the qualities that help keep him sane.

So now imagine this. DH (darling husband) walks outside to get mail. He comes back and stands in the open door and rings the doorbell.  The dog jumps up and barks but seeing DH standing in the door, she is confused.  DH rings the bell again.  Dog still confused, barks while looking around wildly for the culprit making that noise.  Bell rings, dog walks outside and then back in.  Bell continues to ring, dog continues to turn in circles, but begins to suspiciously look toward DH.  DH just stands there laughing and asking the dog who's at the door?

This is repeated at least once per day.  Like I said, DH is easily amused!

Mom, when's dinner?
Can we eat out?

Hmmmm.  Does this mean she has finally tired of leftovers?  Why is it I have a hard time cooking small meals for just the 3 of us.  We really don't like leftovers all that much, no matter how great it was the first time.  It's even worse when he cooks; you would think we had an entire army here.

Today I baked bread.  My neighbor brought me a starter for Amish Friendship Bread.  Reluctantly I smiled and told her how nice she was, and thought to myself what am I going to do with THIS?  It is one of those 10-day processes and I had a business trip scheduled for the 9th or 10th day.  So it sat there.  Just a little batter in a bag.  Couldn't hurt.

And it didn't. The house smells terrific! This is a sweet bread with cinnamon.  I think I will make another batch and add applesauce and chopped nuts - YUM!  My neighbor is really sweet. Here is a link to the recipe.  The web site is pretty neat too if you are a quilter.

So back to dinner.  Maybe I clean out the freezer and rejuvenate some different leftovers that were frozen.

ttfn!

It just doesn't pay to leave the house.

6 weeks ago I was in a wreck - ran into someone because my mind was elsewhere.  No injuries, just some front end repairs to my car.

Last night, someone turned across my lane in front of me.  It was almost a head on collision, but I swerved enough to miss most of it, and luckily also missed the utility pole on the other side.  Again, no injuries, but more damage to the front left that had just been repaired.  His car was not so fortunate - probably a total.

I am not superstitious, but I do have to wonder if it is safe to leave the house....

Me

Him

Magic is in the air!

Started the process to book our Disney World vacation to Florida!  I have to say that the Disney website has some great planning help.  I love having all the info in one place, including airfare.

I think this year we will go a little extra - no Motel 6 for us!  On the property is the way to go :-)