Traditions

I wrote this back in December, but never finished it. As I reread it today, even though its a little belated and not as thorough as I intended, I am still posting it, more to keep the memory than anything else.

Holiday traditions have come and gone in my family. But no matter if they lasted two years or 10, they have made a lasting impression on me and the way I celebrate the holidays:
Present Scavenger Hunt
Christmas morning at my other grandparents house- with all 7 cousins (each one year apart in sequential order) sitting on one gold velvet couch open stocking presents from matching stockings with ET on them (mine now hangs on my banister)
Listening to Christmas Revels, alternating with Secret Garden Sound track, while Eating clementines and writing Christmas cards
Going Christmas Shopping with Tai the day after break in Fanieul Hall
Christmas Stroll in Nantucket

Growing up we never had a real Christmas tree. That's not to say we never had a tree. In my early years (0-4? 5 maybe) we had a small silver tree that sat on a table. The trunk was made of cardboard and had holes to stick in the branches. Once that tree retired to holiday heaven, it took a couple of years to find a proper replacement. A large tree wasn't a great option in our Somerville house, but we (and by we, I mean me) still wanted some way to make the house festive. While our Somerville house was too small for a tree, it did have some great pillars separating the living and dining rooms. So began the tradition of evergreen boughs to spiral up one pillar, across the top and down the second pillar. This was quite an engineering feat, as it was made of real evergreen branches attached with string, and not one long pliable piece of greenery. There was nailing and tacking and stringing into place- but eventually it would be up and gorgeous with white lights and a view of select ornaments (most of which sit on my tree today).

Freak Accident

Freaky things happen to my husband. For those who have known him, you know that weird things gravitate to him at an alarming rate. Technology stops working for him, but magically revives when someone else tries. Items fall or break seemingly just when he looks at them. Those who know my husband have likely heard the dirt muffin story, or the splinter up the fingernail while skiing story. I have heard these stories, amongst others, and have been warned of his "curse", that it would inevitably transfer to me. But last night, I saw it in action.
We are sitting on the coach, watching The Office, when SHM gets up to get some water. He yells in pain. By simply stepping down, he has somehow managed to get a massive splinter lodged into the ball of his foot. Something else you should know about him to complete this story: He is incredibly ticklish. Not just a little, but unbelievably ticklish, particularly on his feet. So perhaps you can imagine the trouble it was for me just to hold his foot to assess the damage. Most splinters come out with tweezers. This one was a good 3 millimeters under the skin. You could see the shadowy form- about half a centimeter long sitting nicely under the ball. Off to the ER we go. We arrive at 10:15pm. By 12:15am we are in with the doctor. Poor SHM, not for the pain of pulling out the splinter, but for the immense concentration and effort it took for him not to flail about and kick the doctor in the face as she removed it.
All we can do is laugh, including the doctor, at the ridiculousness of the whole scene. We walked out at about 12:40, giggling with relief that splinter was out. Just another freak accident in the life of my husband.

Christmas Time is Here

Last night was the final installation of our Christmas decorations- the tree (Balsam Fir) was strung with lights and ornaments hung, all while watching Burl Ives' Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer on TV. It was quite a picturesque moment- SHM and I going through our ornaments,some new and sentimental (a red Adirondack chair from our Nantucket Mini-Moon, a lighthouse from Hilton Head, when we first got engaged, a glass evil eye from Istanbul), some old and sentimental (a blond little tennis boy made out of clay was that very in-style in 1986). We realized with a laugh, that it didn't matter how pretty (or un-pretty) the ornaments were, they were carefully saved because they were given to us by someone special, or bought when we were somewhere special (like the various Boston Terrier ornaments we now have or my blue embroidered camel from Delhi). What's most important to us, is that every ornament on our tree has a story, a meaning or a connection to someone we love.
What a nice way to start the season.

The 2 Week Sprint

When you look at the calendar of an independent school, there is a period of time where there looks to be very little school. That time is between Thanksgiving and Winter Vacations. A mere 2 weeks and 4 days this year, you probably think, "well, that's nice, how much can really happen in that time?" It is becoming scarily apparent that WAY too much is supposed to happen in that time. Because what those of us in the independent school know, that others do not, is that while the time IN school may be only 2 weeks and 4 days, the amount of work to get done is equivalent to the same time without vacation... i.e. 6 weeks: Nov. 23- Jan 4th. 6 weeks worth of work, in 2.9 weeks time. Now that's just crazy.

It is now 6:40pm on Thursday. After a day of running around organizing winter teams, updating summer camp information, planning a 7th grade health event, a senior sex-ed class and entering 150 edits of grades and comments (this alone took over 2 hours), I am sitting with my wonderful husband, enjoying a nice glass of wine and unwinding:) This is the moment that makes the day worth it. Life will always be busy and always be hectic, so I will vent a bit, then move on and enjoy my free time with my family. I only have one day to go until the weekend, and I can wear jeans. Another thing to be thankful for:)

The Little Things

Yesterday Girls' Prep began their Thanksgiving Vacation. As is tradition, every year the final event before vacation is a Thanksgiving Convocation where representatives from each grade read a short poem or story around the theme of giving thanks. So in the spirit of the season, here are the things I am thankful for. Some are big, some are small, but all are important in my life:

My family, my friends, my job, my health
Petunia greeting me at the stairs when I come home from work
On-campus housing
My proximity to a great city
Arriving home to find dishes done (SHM)
Butternut squash soup at the Dining Center
Dinner at the Cottage on a Wednesday (or Tuesday) night
Watching DVR with SHM and Tunes on a winter night with wine
Mornings with coffee and my book
My Iphone
Having my whole family live within driving distance
Having most of my friends in the same state as me (MOST.. not all:(
Hearing one of my soothing songs on the radio
The opportunity to have travelled to 17 countries on 4 continents
Thanksgiving Brunch, followed by Thanksgiving Dinner
Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

The Music That Soothes Me

When you work at a school, time is very much on a cycle. There are ups and downs, peaks and valleys of commotion, stress, excitement and activity (depending on who you ask). In terms of peaks, I would say we are at the top of Mt. Everest right now. The trimester is ending and grades are due, fall sports are ending and winter tryouts are beginning, the high school is taking exams, vacation is around the corner, but not QUITE here yet. In times like this, I find I am often talking to my girls about relieving stress. How they can help themselves feel better. I noticed last week, as I was pulling out my hair and biting down my nails, that I needed some of this stress relief. That's when I turn on my Ipod and put it on shuffle. More than anything else, music has the power to soothe me. Not all music, mind you,some music makes me feel considerably worse, but when I am typing away at my computer and a certain song comes on, I am instantly at ease.
Since I think we all could use a little relief from the stress of life, I have listed below the 4 songs that have most recently had this soothing and wonderful effect on my poor frazzled self. Enjoy!

Jackopierce- More Than This
John Mayer- War of My Life
She & Him- Lingering Still
Norah Jones- Feelin' The Same Way

Splice

Last night SHM and I went to the Parental's for dinner. After the most amazing salmon EVER (thank you, Pedro), we were joined by Julipe (celebrity name of my brother and sister-in-law) for a movie. Most of us had had very stressful and intense weeks, so originally we were looking for a comedy. However, after going through A LOT of movies, we realized the chance of finding a comedy that was actually funny, was slim, and we changed genres. Eventually, we settled on one called Splice. We watched the preview and it looked like a mix of Sci-Fi/scary and we decided it would be fun to watch a scary movie all together.

What we got was a comedy mixed with disturbing, and haunting. I won't give it away, because although I would never want to be the reason for someone seeing this movie, it makes me uncomfortable to recount the plot. Let's just say, the movie was based on the scientists pushing the envelope with genetics and mutating, and there are some highly inappropriate relationships between the scientist and the experiment.

I wikipedia'd it to provide you with a link, and thought the following quote described it well: "Splice is funny, frightening, and shocking all at once. It’s a disturbing commentary on where science is heading, and it is not easily shaken off once you leave the theatre."

Still, I think Jules summed it up the best: "I need a shower for my brain". If only she could. If only we all could.