Before it gets too crazy, or too weird, or too insane to enjoy it all, I’d like to take you back. Back to a time when for me, and my family? It was about enjoying the season for what it was. A time of peace, joy, and love… as seen through the eyes of a child.
When my daughter was not quite 3 years old, she asked for the first time for her Christmas wish: a pink, triangle napkin holder. A what, you ask? A napkin holder. Triangle shaped. For her play kitchen that she had received the previous year. The fact that such an object did not exist was of little consequence to her; Santa would make one, of course.
Hoping to catch that request on video, I’m sure, my husband broke out the camera. And, well, two-year-old girls are fickle. On this day, a pink present was just about good enough.
I submit the following for your enjoyment:
The napkin holder? Miracle of miracles, Santa came through. (You knew he would, didn’t you?)
There’s nothing that Santa can’t make out of wood, don’tcha know.
On Friday my daughter’s school Wind Ensemble participated in the Dixie Classic Music Festival at Hanover High School in Mechanicsville, VA. I am proud to say that they achieved a Superior Rating. Below are videos of the performance, for your enjoyment (and my bragging!). Thanks for having a look.
Our daughter plays flute and piccolo, and is “first chair” stage right of the conductor.
This last number is my favorite of all. I hear the kids loved playing it, too. It sounded like a real challenge.
Way to go, Wind Ensemble! This mom is proud of you.
This week is Spring Break for my kids. They’ve had fun, and they’ve had their share of squabbles. And come Monday, it’ll all be over, and back to normal routines of school, homework, and more reasonable bedtimes.
Luckily, my son is rarely bored. We’re constantly after him to keep his Legos picked up, and most of the time it’s a losing battle. Our living room carpet is literally a sea of plastic bits that probably came from some Star Wars themed fighting ship, and are always poised to be transformed into something else every day.
Well, today, he surprised us with this. Meet the Day Family!
The Day Family in Legos
Left to right are Steven, Diana, John and Trish. Aren’t we a good looking bunch?
I am especially tickled with the detail and time he took with LegoTrish.
LegoTrish
This is me, in my wheelchair, which he custom made. In my hands I am doing some sort of needlework, which was another touch he thought of by himself. (“Sorry, mommy, I could only find one knitting needle!”)
We’ve always taught our kids that my wheelchair is a part of me, and that it is not something which is a hindrance, but a tool that makes it possible for me to participate in life. I am their mom, and I just happen to be in a wheelchair. It’s not big news at our house, but it is such an integrated part of who I am that with every picture my kids have ever drawn of me, it is obvious that I am in a wheelchair.
So, it would be only right that the Lego Family would have a mom in a wheelchair, too… even if Lego wheelchairs don’t exist and 8-year-old boys have to stick them together with odd bits and pieces. And he did a pretty darn good job, too! Here’s a side view, for you wheelchair geeks.
Diana soaking up the sun on a happy dayAt the risk of sounding mushy, I’m going to tell you that 14 years ago tonight, almost to the very moment of this writing, I became a mother. That moment, at the sound of her first cry, on what was a snowy night in March, was so much more than the realization of a lifelong dream. It was EVERY dream. Practically the only thing I ever wanted in my whole life. And there she was, pink-faced and perturbed that we disturbed her napping with the business of being born. The enormity of the moment thankfully didn’t hit me just then, but eventually it did… that I would be completely and utterly responsible for the well-being of someone other than myself. That not only would I have to keep her fed and warm and clean and dry, but that also I would have to teach her things, and help her find her way through this life that is becoming more and more complicated.
Would I be up to the challenge? To help this little, wriggling girl know the difference between right and wrong, and to help her make good choices? Would I be able to share my knowledge with her without passing on the guilt of my own mistakes?
Would I forget to be so serious all the time, and teach her how to laugh? Would I teach her that the most wonderful places in the world are the ones you conjure up in your imagination? Would I show her how to be curious without being afraid?
Fourteen years ago, as all these things were crossing my mind, I could not imagine being here. Fourteen years on, with a daughter who now towers far above my head, but has the shyness of a child. One who is a giggling schoolgirl and an old soul all at once. We are a work in progress, she and I, and only time will tell me if I have done well. I think so, though, and so far I am very proud that of all the daughters in the world, God gave me this one. I am truly lucky.
Thank goodness it wasn’t a gift, but I was hoping to be able to wear my funky elf hat in Christmas morning photos. The same thing happened to me the last time I knit this pattern. I should know that starting this pattern in November just isn’t enough time, at least not at the Holiday Season. I mean, with everything that goes on at this time of year, there were days when I never even knit at all.
And this is why I don’t knit occasion gifts. I never make my knitting deadlines. So, I’ve for the most part decided just to never have any.
The thing is, I’ve started the decreases now, so soon enough the rounds on this hat will begin to go quickly. So will I wait til next Christmas to wear this hat? No way! Let everyone think I’m crazy when I show up wearing it when it’s done. (I was thinking of attaching jingle bells on the pointy end of the hat… maybe I’ll wait til Christmas for that part…) My coworkers already know that I’m weird, what with the other Santa hat and my eyeball scarf. So this one won’t be hard to wear to work, for sure. Except that it clashes with my purple coat. Oh well…
The weather has been really cold here! Ok, so we’re not below zero like a lot of folks in some parts of the country, but our area has relatively mild winters and it’s cold here! Our old drafty house isn’t helping. almost think I can feel the wind coming right through the walls sometimes. Yesterday was everyone’s first day back to school and work after the holidays, and even though the weatherman swears to me that the days are getting longer now, I don’t believe it. Not even the sun wanted to get out of bed yesterday morning. It’s supposed to get colder before we see normal winter weather again. I can definitely say I’m not looking forward to the rest of this week.
One thing I’d like to share before I go… my favorite Christmas gift. The kids went on a cruise with my in-laws this summer, and they had a photo taken while they were gone:
New photo of brother and sister
I love this photo. It’s on my mantle, on my computer wallpaper, and now on my blog. Now I can look at it anytime. I’m such a proud mama.
Christmas is coming,
The goose is getting fat.
Please put a penny in the old man’s hat.
If you haven’t got a penny then a ha’ penny will do…
(Well, you know the rest…)
This is the time of year when I just get crazy. So much to do! So little time! Christmas comes on the same freakin’ day every year, and yet, I can’t ever avoid the last minute hectic feeling. It’s like I’m singing in rounds all the time, except the song’s never over, and I can’t catch my breath. For instance, just this week alone:
My little boy is sick. Not just a little bit sick. He got sent home from school on Thursday morning, and we took him to the doctor right away, and though he looked awful he didn’t even have a fever and so they just sent us home and said, oh well.. wait it out. So we’re waiting. And waiting. It’s Day 5 now and really? We’d really just like him to be well already. We’re going back to the doctor tomorrow because the fevers that were nonexistent on Thursday? They won’t go away now. Not to mention the whoopsie tummy incident on my den carpet (right behind me, at the computer) that somehow made a red Slurpee live forever in monument on the rug. Ok so the carpet doesn’t owe us a thing, but I had been hoping to replace it sometime after my elderly cats weren’t around to leave their own monuments on a new carpet. Oh well, just my luck. Anyway, I’m really hoping BoyZilla gets well soon… I truly hate seeing him so miserable.
Second, the Christmas Cards. The cards are here, but still in boxes. The newsletter that I had been skipping the last four years suddenly got done this year (my daughter volunteered) but now it means an extra trip to Kinkos at some point for copying. Sigh. And is there anybody out there who can run to the post office for me? I need about a hundred stamps, quick. Thanks!
Third, the office potluck, scheduled for Wednesday, at a time when I already had a meeting on the top floor (a big deal where I work). I struggled all weekend to find something I could make in the crockpot for ease of carrying. Except the group couldn’t decide whether it was going to be breakfast or lunch. If it was breakfast then there are others who are the queens of breakfast casseroles and quiche, so I needed a sort of side dish, that was festive, and good for either situation. Not as easy as you’d think.
I settled on Potatoes Au Gratin with Asiago and Gorgonzola and cream cheese with turkey kielbasa. (Did I mention that people in my office don’t eat pork?) So I send the poor husband on a cheese hunt in the market (We’re simple cheese slice people and typically can’t even spell Gorgonzola) and after much searching he was successful. Yay! Gourmet cheesy potatoes! Except you know what? The boss tells me today that our potluck has been postponed. So has my meeting on the top floor, by the way, so I’m feeling all cheesed up and nowhere to go. Harumph.
My wedding ring has been broken since before Thanksgiving and it has been repaired and is waiting for me at the jeweler, except I can’t seem to get there, what with the sick kid and cheese quest and all. I guess it’s ok, though because my nephew already has the book I bought him for Christmas so I have to go get something else this weekend. One last trip to the mall. I guess I’ll pick up my ring this weekend.
So, as you can imagine, I’m a little stressed out. So much, in fact, that I got all teary-eyed at one of those Folger coffee commercials, you know, where the missing family member gets home for Christmas, and starts a pot of coffee for his sleeping mom and dad? Yeah that one. Totally bawled. I think I need a cuppa and a hug.
But, it’s not all bad… today the mailman brought this:
Gedifra Cashmere pink yarn
That’s right, Trish. Go pet the cashmere. It’ll all be over soon.
