Christmas Blessings

At the beginning of December the kids came home from school so excited and announced they were starting their holiday units and art projects. Joseph and Charley came close and whispered that in their classes this year they got to talk about Christmas and wondered if that was allowed. I laughed out loud and thought how sad is that! I guess we are officially out of the politically correct school system of our past. The next week they announced that Santa had visited the school and Joseph wanted to know if I would play the draddle with him. They also talked about all the decorations that had been hung all over the school. They are still in disbelief that its ok to talk about different holidays here.

Sam's teacher sent around a list asking for parents to come in and tell about their holiday traditions to ensure everyone had a chance to voice their customs and beliefs. I was assigned to the 22nd of the month. Unfortunately due to IV treatment times and nurse and doctor appointments I wasn't able to make it. I asked the teacher if I could send a letter and have Sam act things out and share a few traditions he likes. She agreed and thought it was a great idea.

Sam wanted to share of the Christmas Eve traditions at Nana and Papa's house in particular. That night all the family and many friends are invited over for the festivities. The barn is cleaned out and prepared with hay bale seats and a stage. Every child and adults who have been coerced will be given a part in the nativity and will then search the house for costume material. There is a bin of clothes, however the house is depleted of all bathrobes, towels, sheets, and blankets. The story is read from the Bible and the actors do their stuff. (Its quite the site!). After the nativity is completed we sing songs, tell stories, and play homemade chimes. Then we move back into the house for the sugar blitz!

I made Sam a costume consisting of a hat and shall made out of towels and wrote a short note describing the traditions in CA and the ones we now have at home. I picked up Sam from school that day and asked the teacher how it went. She said it was great and that she may change to have the kids share their traditions next year as she loved Sam's presentation. I asked Sam how it went. He told him a girl at his table laughed at him when he dressed up. I asked him how he felt about that. He said, "Mom, she doesn't know how much fun we have, if she knew she wouldn't laugh, she would want to dress up too." I love it. Of course this made his Nana cry knowing how much he loves being there for the holidays.

With Christmas Eve's arrival and having my Dad released from the hospital that day we had to scramble to complete our preparations for Christmas on a tight schedule. Charley and Joseph tagged along as we scrambled to find a stocking and presents for Grandpa as he would be with us instead of in MN. I told the duo that they couldn't tell the younger ones that Mom was helping Santa out with some of the stocking stuff this year. Joseph looked at me with wonderment and asked me what I meant. I realized I hadn't told him what Grandpa was in the hospital for and what had happened and that we needed to make sure he had a good Christmas. Joseph began to cry and offered his stocking to Grandpa and wanted to know how he could make things better. I think for the first time Joseph got the gist of why we celebrate Christmas.