November is over?

How is that even possible?  Seems like we all were just talking about which pies to order for Thanksgiving, and now even the pies are history... except for a chunk of apple pie which is hiding in the back of the fridge in the pantry.

Book Club at the school was an eye-opening experience for me this afternoon. One of the disruptive boys, who I was on the verge of signing out of the club last week, was the first to arrive in the school library today. He put his back-pack down and asked me if he could help set up the room for the students. Being that he was twenty minutes ahead of his usual time, I asked if his class was let out early or was he supposed to be somewhere else at that time. He told me they were released early and told they could go out into the schoolyard to play ball until the after-school programs began at three o'clock. He told me he knew I would be in the library so he went there instead of going outside with the other boys.

Well.... and then some.  He helped me set up the snack table, and he did it expertly and carefully. (This from the same boy who tried to take extra snacks each week, even before any of the other students had a chance to get to that table.)  Then he helped me set out the attendance slips and the pencils, the stickers and the book labels.  And then, with ten minutes to spare, he sat down and started talking. And talking. Quietly, as if he were just thinking out loud... letting me in on how his life has gone so far, up to his present sixth grade status.  He asked me if I would be doing the 'Book Club Thing' when he leaves the elementary school and goes into the next school building.  I told him that the Book Club Thing was for grades 4, 5, and 6...... and I said that I hoped he would continue reading when he was in the higher grades.

Without going into the details of this particular boy's life story, let me just say that in his young life, he has gone through enough hurdles that would have flattened out a lot of adults. I could have sat there and just cried while I was listening to him. But he kept his chin up and so did I... and he was one of the students who was rewarded with a 'magic' wand this afternoon. This boy was thrilled, just thrilled, and thanked me three times, and told me he would try to get to the library early next week so he could help me 'do the setting up thing' again.

I quickly realized that this young boy was really not one of the disruptive boys... he had been disruptive during past book club meetings when the other boys were there... in order to fit in, to not be bullied, to be 'one of the guys.'  Without those other boys in the library today (all of whom have chosen on their own not to be part of the book club anymore) this boy really enjoyed the afternoon's meeting and his new status as an owner of a special magic wand.

This afternoon's talk with that student made me very humble. To think of what that young boy has been through is enough to make me cry right now.  I wish for him a better life as he gets older. I wish and I hope and I pray that the adults in his life realize that sometimes kids need to just talk and have someone listen to their words. Just listen... without speaking, without judging, without commenting on the way they see their young life playing out.

I had to make an announcement to the book club students today.... next Thursday will be our last meeting until after the Christmas break.  The kids will be taking after-school tutorials in math and science, and then taking their exams, and then school will be closed for the break.  When I told the kids all of that, I heard nothing but moans and groans, and questions such as "Are you sure you're coming back in January?"  "How come they're taking you away again?"  "Why can't we have book club when the school is closed?"  "You can do book club at my house!"

So next Thursday, I will bring Christmas books in for the students... and the grab-bag Christmas gifts... and the snacks.  I also had other holiday surprises planned for the weeks leading up to the holiday break, but I will save those for January.  You've heard of Christmas In July?  Well, the Book Club will have Christmas In January!

I will miss those kids during the Christmas break.  Especially that one little boy...

Turkey, smurkey....

Just whose idea was it anyway to have turkey as the star of the show on Thanksgiving?  Given a choice, I would have chosen lobster. Or my grandmother's lasagna. However, the Powers That Be have chosen turkey, but at least I don't have to cook it this year. Friends up the road who will be here on Thanksgiving Day have offered to cook the turkey in their Texas-style smoker. Fine with me... all I have to do is defrost that bird and drive it up the hill. There is a turkey-god after all.

Last week was the Book Fair at the elementary school, so we had to cancel our meeting of The Magic Wand Book Club. I made that announcement to the students the week before, and was met with moans and groans and offers to have the Book Club meet in their backyards last Thursday. I thanked those students for the suggestion, but told them it would  not be possible even if they saved me the best seat on their swing set. When I told them I would miss them last week but would return this week, two of the 'disruptive' boys said "Are you sure you're coming back?"  Indeed. I am sure.  And I will see them this Thursday afternoon.  Maybe those boys who-shall-not-be-named will truly have missed the Book Club and will see to it that their behavior is less disruptive this week. One can hope.

For the past two weeks, I have been gathering up caps and capes... Reading Caps for the boys and Reading Capes for the girls.  Just a few more capes (wraps, shawls, poncho-type capes) and I will have enough for all the girls (28).  I already have enough caps for the boys (17), which were easy to find.  My idea is to give out the Reading Caps and Reading Capes to all the book club students, with the intention of making their reading time more special. "Put on your Reading Cap/Cape, find yourself a quiet corner in your home, and escape to another world between the covers of the book you are reading."  The students who already love books and reading don't really need another incentive for getting lost in the stories, so the caps and capes will just be a reward for them. The few students who haven't yet grasped the importance and significance of reading will possibly 'get it' if given half a chance.

Invitations for our Christmas party have gone out, with a note saying "No sit-down dinner!" written on the cards. Our Halloween party last month, with a smaller group than usual, turned into a church-supper, with friends/neighbors finding seats at the dining room table and not moving out of them until they decided it was time to go home.  Enough is enough. This is not a church community center. I didn't spend two weeks decorating and two days cooking for fourteen people to sit around my dining room table for two hours.  How is it that our Heatherdale parties lasted till midnight?!

From now on, I will arrange our parties here exactly like our parties back on Heatherdale.... no chairs around the dining room table, which will be covered with food and desserts, plates and forks... not place-settings. I should have stuck to my original arrangements when we started having parties in this house. Who goes to a party and sits down in one chair and doesn't move for the entire night? People can sit at their own tables in their own homes... the idea of these parties is to mingle and nibble, talk to everyone and catch up with friends and neighbors, not just the people to the right and left of you.

I think our Halloween parties may be history. Maybe this country life is just not a good match-up for costumes and silly clothes. However, that certainly doesn't apply to our Minion-esque friend who would have given the 'real' Minions a run for their money (or whatever currency those yellow-and-blue-suited Minions use).

For the last two years, Crazy Christmas Sweaters have been the theme for our Christmas party. This year, one of our friends suggested Crazy Christmas Socks... so that's what we're all doing.  I had to get creative on this one because I don't wear socks.  I looked on-line for Christmas stockings and tights... and found a good selection of colorful possibilities. I just have to find something to go with my red high heels. Ho! Ho! Ho!

Beyond belief....

...but I did believe.... in two things:  that The Magic Wand Book Club would be successful, and that the Houston Astros could win the World Series.

As I type this, the Astros are having a massive parade and rally along the streets of downtown Houston. Surely, there must be over a million people there, and the energy of the fans is intoxicating. What a glorious event for the city, after having gone through the life-changing damages and heart-wrenching effects of the summer’s hurricane. Great for the Astros, and great for the people of Houston.

After last week’s book club meeting, I asked the school principal to announce that membership in the club was at, and beyond, capacity. No new members will be accepted now, and the total number of students will stay at 45.  The students who are truly into books and reading continue to choose their books wisely.... about one dozen readers have already received their wands and club buttons.  The students who just joined because their friends did will be eliminated from the club if they don’t make an effort to at least read a book or two.... the few disruptive boys are already on notice that if they don’t shape up, they will be shipped out. I hate to do that, but I don’t want to be wasting Book Club time on discipline, especially with kids who really don’t want to be there anyway.

The book club has gone beyond my wildest imagination, and I am so happy for the students.