Well, hello there December

Now how did THAT happen?  How is it December so soon?

We've spent the day today festooning the house for Christmas, bins everywhere, the color scheme of the house slanted towards red and green... working fast because it feels like the holiday season is UPON us and there aren't enough hours in the day for proper holiday festivity AND ordinary life....


At any rate, I owe you some memories of last weekend, and maybe this one too while I'm at it.

Thanksgiving:  A day of warmth and comfort at Aunt Pat's house.  It is like coming home, every time.  Even with the new kitchen, the little changes she's made, the house remains something of a time capsule for me.  I step in and breathe in the scents and colors of memory, a child again in my grandmother's house.

I love it there.

Ivy has discovered the magic of the light-up closet-of -toys for sure. 

Ice Skating:  The rink at Wade Oval is open!  The kids are in love.  We had a magical time, the three of us, in the softly falling snow...

WinterFest:  We went downtown for the tree lighting last Saturday, along with every. single. other. person. in. Cleveland.  

It was a madhouse there.  After waiting in line for 20 minutes for mini donuts, we walked away from the action and enjoyed a craft fair at the Arcade, before viewing the lights AFTER the ceremony.  Much more manageable then. 

A great birthday:  Special day breakfast, sushi with my honey, a walk on a wintry beach, silly fun with an ostrich-shaped stick, cake with my little family.  Not a bad way to turn 38.

The weeks in between these jam-packed weekends just seem to slip by.  Of course it is hard to complain about the work week going quickly but I hate to see any of life go by so very unnoticed.  Things are busy for me at work right now, as they always seem to be, rewriting an IEP and planning new curriculum and trying to squeeze in a bit of fun for my students too.  A highlight this week was certainly our field trip to the Cleveland Playhouse on Friday, where the kids saw "A Christmas Story."  I love taking them downtown, watching them experience live theater (many for the first time).  After our return we had a group discussion that lasted the better part of 40 minutes, with all of the students in the room sharing memories and opinions, sequencing and categorizing and sorting out their experience of the play.  Anyone who thinks that these trips don't have value, needed to be in the room with us for that discussion. 

Friday night took a fabulous day and made it even better.  Our much anticipated "Party at the Art Museum"  went off without a hitch, with 20 our our friends meeting us there for swing dancing, art and elegance, and then 18 of them adjourning to our house for an afterparty that recounted, in some small ways, the parties of our youth-- tempered and mellowed by age, of course.  Our old friend Paris played the piano all night, people were singing, people were talking, there were ice cream bars.  My house was full of a wonderful collection of people I love until 1 in the morning.  Yes.

Saturday:  dress rehearsal, then a surprise bit of time with my sister, touring our old high school before the old building is demolished (make room for the new...), having lunch together, then watching Elf and playing video games and cuddling puppies for a while at her house.  The kids sure do love Becca and Joe. 

Then, off to Light up Lakewood.  Windy and cold but there was no stopping us.    We persevered and saw live reindeer, drank several rounds of free hot cocoa, played kids games at the MAsonic Temple, walked at least a mile of Detroit Avenue, hid out in a candy shop to stay warm, and finally saw the fireworks, our faces bit by wind and flying bits of ice from the guy inexplicably making an ice sculpture, right next to us, right as the fireworks started.  Our good time was dicey for a while, but it was all worth it for these two moments: 

1.  Singing christmas carols, just the three of us, to stay warm-- Ivy in my arms, her face inches from mine, singing with joy and enthusiasm.  After singing "We wish you a Merry Christmas,"  she says to me with great gravity--"Momma, did you notice that I am GOOD?" She was, too.  They've been practicing it at school and I need to get it on video for you.

2.  Two kids tucked in next to me, as I shielded them from the wind (and ice bits), eyes alight with joy, reflecting the bursts of color.  Their pink cheeks, their smiles, the love I felt for them in that moment....