Jingle Bells...

It has been a busy week, and as I type, it is four o’clock in the morning and I have the washer going. Somehow, the washing machine sounds louder than it does at four o’clock in the afternoon. I was asleep a little while ago, but Savannah barked because she heard the latest stray cat out on the porch. Maybe she thought it was Santa.  One short trip out to the grass with Savannah has gotten me wide awake.

We had our Christmas party last night.... instead of a Crazy Christmas Sweater theme, we did Crazy Christmas Socks. Among others, we had red and white striped elf socks, penguin socks and Santa socks, silver snowflake tights, white socks filled with coal, and reindeer socks that were attached to a Rudolph “onesie” complete with tail and a red nose. I shall not reveal the wearer of that hilarious outfit, just in case she wants to remain anonymous.

To add to the Christmas spirit of the party, we had snow the other day. More than an inch but less than two... great big pretty flakes that stuck to the grass and bushes and closed the schools till noon that day. The property looked beautiful, but I do miss the 80-degree temperatures of last week. Having a white Christmas in Texas is not what I am dreaming of, with apologies to Bing Crosby. Hopefully, this cold weather will pass and go back up north where it belongs.

Last Thursday was the final Book Club afternoon for my 4th, 5th, and 6th graders. They have exams this coming week, and then the school closes for the winter break. We will resume Book Club Thursdays in mid-January.  The students weren’t happy about missing a few book club days, but we had a little Christmas party this past Thursday.  Their book selections were all Christmas stories, and they had a good time picking out their favorite old ones and discovering new ones. More than once, I heard a fifth-grader say “I love this book... I read it when I was a kid!”   I had candy canes and snacks for them as well as Christmas grab-bag gifts, and the students who did not yet receive their magic wands got to pick theirs last Thursday.

The kids are just so enthusiastic about the book club, and the ones who have decided to keep their books are happy to be starting their own little library. I have stressed the importance of keeping their books in good condition so they will have them for years. When I told the students that I have books that I read in the fourth and fifth grades, they looked at me as if the books had to be falling apart from such a long life. One little boy told me that I must be as old as 25, so that made up for the ‘ancient’ age-appraisals of the other kids.

The Magic Wand Book Club has been going now since the term began this Fall.... it seems like such a long time already that these kids have been in my life. It was all I could do not to ask all the kids what they wanted for Christmas and then go out and shop till I dropped so their wishes would come true on Christmas morning.  These kids have so little, and the grab-bag gifts and books and wands that they get from me are received with such joy.  One of the boys last week asked me if he could pick out a girl’s gift for his grandmother instead of picking a boy’s gift for himself.  I quietly told him to pick one from each pile. These kids... how could you not love them?

Yesterday up on Long Island, the daughter of one of my cousins got married. We didn’t go up for the wedding... my husband is in the midst of giving final exams at the university and traveling at this time of the year is iffy because of the weather up north. They did have snow for that wedding up on Long Island, so I can't wait to hear from my cousin tomorrow if her daughter-the-bride was happy with the snow or not.  My cousin's daughter was here to visit us last May, and I sent her home with pearl and diamond earrings to wear on her wedding day.  I can't wait to see the pictures of the wedding, and she will also send me a video of the church ceremony and reception.  C had her wish... a winter wedding.... but her mother wasn't too thrilled about the snow.