My Christmas Top Ten

I love top ten lists and Christmas so here is my list of my top favorite Christmas traditions. It's hard to narrow the list down, but here's my best attempt:

10) Clothes: Yes, that's right, clothes. I love dressing up and I love winter clothes. I love coats and scarves and gloves and turtlenecks and fuzzy socks and different shades of red and green. I love getting Christmas dresses and making my poor nieces wear the dresses I wish I could wear. I love feeling snuggley all day long. I'm thankful that the weather is cold enough right now to merit my wearing winter weather clothes.

9) Decorations: It begins right at Thanksgiving break. I decorate my classroom with twinkle lights, ribbons and garland. Then I go to my mom's house and we decorate her tree (I refuse to let her do this without me). We talk about the history of all of her ornaments and where they all came from. We stare at the tree from afar with lights on and off and then move one ornament 2 inches to the right or decide to switch a red one with a white one to get a good balance. We then make Dad come and give his opinion which is always, "Beautiful!" Mom has to occasionally corral me in as I dance away to listen to music or get something to drink and get distracted. It's a great time.
   Then I get to my tree with my roommate which takes us at most ten minutes to select and then a little longer to decorate. It's an eclectic tree filled with ornaments that were mostly gifts from other people. We get a wreath and put up our lights which are on a remote. We then joke about who must bear the difficult burden of turning the lights off at night (a task that requires the pressing of one button).

8) Movies: I love Christmas movies! The Cheesier the better. I've written many blogs about this subject so I don't think I need to expand much on this except that I love Elf, BFC, and White Christmas probably the best.

7)eggnog/ cocomotion: I love eggnog. The end. I love cocomotion. Cocomotion was a gag gift my mom gave me several years ago that has become a beloved appliance. Everyone was getting coffee machines and I don't drink coffee so mom got me a hot coco machine instead. It both stirs and heats the hot chocolate to a perfect temperature. Not too hot and not too cold. It is a miracle machine that makes chocolatey goodness and I hope it lasts another ten years.

6)  gifts: Yes, I have a million people I buy presents for and yes, I'm sure I could spend that money on better things, but there is a special thrill when you find the perfect gift for someone and you can't wait to give it to him or her. On Christmas day there are so many presents at my Aunt and Uncle's house that we feel a sense of gluttony, but it doesn't stop us from all buying for each other.

5)music: I love listening to my favorite Christmas albums (which I've also blogged about). There are just some songs that whisk you back to your childhood or make you suddenly feel like Christmas is really here. I love listening to the KOST. My brother Paul and I leave each other fake KOSTmas wishes on our phones. We'll call each other up and leave cheesey messages and dedications for the Christmas season. It's one of the few times we hope the other doesn't answer the phone so we can leave a long and sappy message and dedicate real or fake songs to each other.

4)  singing: I know this seems like a repeat of the previous one, but I consider this one different because this is not just listening to music, but singing it out. I love to carol with people (I've gone three times this year) and I especially love singing special music stuff at church: choir songs, songs with the kids, tight harmonies with my mom and aunt, or the one note chorus on Christmas night. The one note chorus was started by my roommate and her sister and was quickly stolen by my family. We sit in a circle and start to sing a Christmas song, but each person only sings one note at a time. So I would sing the first note and then the person next to me would sing the next note and so on and so on. I love singing "Angels We Have Heard on High" this way because the Gloria is super silly.

3)  play at church: The Christmas play is a big part of my season. In fact, I think about next year's play before this year's is even done. I love how great our kids are, how much they memorize, how skilled they are as actors, how willing they are to do what I ask of them, and how sweetly they sing of the gospel of Christmas. And if all else fails there is always the magic that happens when the youngest ones sing Away in a Manger. It's a fun night and a great reminder of why we celebrate - Christ's birth means that we are saved from our sins, at peace with God, and adopted into His family forever!

2) candle light service - On Christmas Eve we have a candle light service. I love the music and the atmosphere and being with my church family on this special holiday. But the ultimate best part is at the end. All of the lights go out, we all light candles and stand around the edge of the church in a circle and sing "Silent Night". It's so beautiful and so wonderful - that's when Christmas feels most real.

1) Christmas day with the family - like a giant slumber party with the people you love the most in the world. I guess that's exactly what it is. My family all crowds into the beach house with our presents, people, snoring, suitcases, and food. We stay up too late, get up too early, eat food all day and unwrap presents for hours. Some people come later because they have other families to go to. Some leave during the middle of the day to celebrate at other homes, but everyone comes back at night for dinner and stockings. Grandma gives us her own stockings that she prepares during the whole year. She buys so many things that go with each person. From mugs to hair ties, from lip gloss to books, her stocking stuffers are what some people would consider full blown presents. And she does this for anyone who happens to be there that night. If you are celebrating Christmas night with us, you will have a stocking. She's amazing.

I love Christmas because it is beautiful, it is sentimental, and it is filled with food and family. I think that the ultimate thing about Christmas is that it allows us all the opportunity to reflect on the real meaning of Christmas. This is not some ethereal unknown feeling of joy or wonder. The real meaning of Christmas is that God in His mercy came to earth in the most humble of forms, and revealed himself to the most humble of people. God did this to save a broken people from their sins and collect them as his own children. The miracle of Jesus and how we get to celebrate that openly is why I love this season so much.

How freedom led to misdirection which led to overall dogmatism

I love to buy clothes for my nieces and nephew. I especially love to buy fancy clothes for fancy occasions. So does their Grandma Maurine. So we have a compromise: I get Christmas, she gets Easter. This year I decided to take Maddie with me in the process and actually let her pick it out.

  So, being the cool aunt that I am, Maddie and I drove to Kohl's and made our way to the jr.'s (eek she's in the jr's) department and I let her pick away. I was fine with the idea of her choosing whatever dress she wanted. I was so excited to show Maddie how to shop Auntie Brenda style (I'm pretty good at shopping for clothes and I was eager to take my new disciple under my wing). So there are rows and rows of green and red dresses, some with bows, some with velveteen, some with both. What does my precious little baby girl choose? A purple strappy number that looks like something a high school girl might wear to a formal dance...in the spring time...in the eighties. I cringed slightly and remember that she is eight and that when I was eight I fell for the glitter and shimmer that was the eighties (it actually was the eighties when I was going through it...), but this had no Christmas spirit! I tried to play cool aunt and put the dress on my arm, waiting for the next selection.

    So now Santa Baby shows up. A velveteen green dress with faux white fur on the cuffs and hem. It's actually pretty cute and mostly conservative, but it's also just not...well...not prissy. And frankly, I was and am a prissy kind of Christmas dress kind of a girl. I love a classic style that is frilly and girly. But I added it to the pile and continued on the shopping journey.

  I had no idea that my little dear one was such a non-traditionalist. I never asked her what she wanted to wear before and I realized that this little one doesn't want to dress like a little one any more. And then I saw the little beauty before me. A white and red dress with little bits of silver thread throughout. It was so beautifully A-lined and tea length with a high waist wrapped in a satin bow. It came with a red velveteen bolero jacket with a single button. It was as classic little girl Christmas as you could get in a dress, but still looking modern.

  "What do you think of this one?" I asked wistfully, half expecting Maddie to clap her hands in glee or sigh in joy at the thought of owning such a dress.

"Ehh," she tossed out as she thumbed through red versions of her santa baby dress.

"Let's just try it and see," I said, hoping that I could somehow convince her that this was the best choice.

When we got to the dressing room, she tried on the purple one and she was in love with it. It was actually cute, but still felt too old for my little niece. "Mom would make me wear something under it..."she sighed.

"Yeah, definitely, and if it was cold outside your arms would be uncovered..." I thought I'd try to suade her away from this choice. "Let's take a picture and then make our decision." I always take pictures of clothes when I'm not sure what I think. We took a picture and moved on.

Green Santa Baby was cute and looked actually like a kind of  nod to a 1950's skating costume. It was too tight, but the little one still wanted it. "If we can find it in a bigger size, maybe."

Then she put on the one I really loved and I sighed, "Oh, man!" I was in love with this dress.

Maddie misunderstood and said, "Yeah, I like the green one better too."

"Really? What do you like about this one?" She started listing off some things and I added, "And it's a perfect spinny skirt. Spin, let me see," she did and I ohhed an ahhed.

"The green one swirls too," she said defensively.

"Well, if you had to pick your top two, what would they be?"

"The green and the purple."

"Really? Not this one? I love this one. The purple is pretty, but it's for summer..."

We tried on one more dress (brown and blue, which she liked better than my choice) and I decided to make one final move to getting what I wanted and not caring at all that my sweet niece was not getting what she wanted. "If we can find either the green dress or the brown one in a bigger size, then we will get it. Otherwise we'll get the red one. Does that sound ok?"

"Sure."

We didn't find the size and when she asked to try on another dress that was red with bedazzled jewels all throughout it, I decided that I no longer cared what my niece felt was the best choice and I was just going to have things the way I wanted them.

"No," I said, "we have to go."

And go we did with my little dress that I would have wanted when I was a little girl (and would totally buy the grown-up size, if they made it). My sweet little niece was grateful for her dress and tried it on again at home, spinning dutifully when asked to. She liked the dress and has pictures of the ones she loved and didn't get.

So I realized something - I guess I'm not ready to extend shopping freedom to my niece, but will I ever be?

It Was All Going So Poorly and Then the Blood Poured Out

This year my sixth period is my most difficult class. They are a sweet group of very immature kids. They have only finished one complete lesson before the bell rang. That means they have stayed late after school every day since September, but one. They just can't seem to stop talking and stay focused. They are like a cauldron of boiling energy just waiting to spill out over the edge. They are by no means bad kids, they are kind and loving and love me, but they have no idea how to be good students. I direct them in this daily, but it doesn't seem to stick.

Today started and I knew that it would be one of those days were I was directing and redirecting a thousand times and I would potentially lose my voice and my patience. I began class with an activity and after explaining for 5-7 minutes in detail, half the class still didn't know what to do. I went to those groups and explained it again and after another 10 minutes or so, was ready to begin the discussion that would explain the purpose of the activity. After another 3 minutes or so we finally started to get to some meaty information (now about 5 minutes behind the other classes I had taught). Kids were generally settling down and focusing and understanding.

One boy was not participating with his partner and after several reminders was slowly frustrating his capable partner, Bob. The class started to get loud and I knew we were at a breaking point. If I didn't get them to quiet down immediately, there was no hope in finishing the lesson. As I was quieting them down, Bob asked to go to the restroom (a common request when real work is at hand). I told him no and passed out the papers for their notes. Suddenly blood spewed (and I mean spewed) from Bob's nose. He stood up (bleeding all over his desk and shirt) and tried to go to the supply closet. I told him he could totally go to the bathroom. I grabbed some napkins to hand him as he was going outside and specifically said, "Don't touch anything on his desk!" I stepped outside to give him the napkins and apologized for not letting him go to the bathroom earlier.

In the 3 seconds it took for me to do this, Bob's partner was touching the bloody paper on the desk! I screamed for him to stop. All I could think of was all the communicable diseases that this kids could potentially get by handling someone's blood. I said sternly, "Are you trained in how to properly handle blood? That is so dangerous!!" I think he was trying to be helpful and was using Bob's note paper to wipe up the desk.

I then did the only thing I could do - I tried to rescue my failing lesson. I kept to my script as I donned gloves and napkins, and Clorox wipes and cleaned and disposed of the blood. Bless their hearts, but the kids were not listening to a word I had to say about cups and pints. "You look like a doctor!" "Don't doctors get paid a lot?" "Doctors get paid more than teachers." "You did a good job cleaning that up, you should be a doctor."

I did the best I could. Bob returned with blood all over his shirt and then proceeded to take all of his notes. I think we can only be expected to handle so much and there was not much more anyone could do. I guess in this class, when it bleeds, it pours.