Almost-Christmas Eve Bullets

• If you haven't discovered joys of http://www.freerice.com/, let me take this opportunity to recommend it, for both enjoyment and good cause (good cause being learning vocabulary and donating rice to those in need). I'm asking my AP kids to visit it at least thrice over this Christmas break.
• Doing experiential, whole-family gifts is the only way to go for Christmas, as far as I'm concerned! Our family made the decision to do this this year, and it has led to an essentially stress-free season. It forced us to spend less (we enacted a dollar limit), caused us to be creative in our presentation of the gift to the family, and it will increase family together time over the course of this next calendar year! Can't beat that! [For those who are wondering, we had my side of the family's Christmas early -- the 22nd -- so we know what our gifts are. Throughout the year, we will be visiting the Getty, doing a traditional family game night, picnicking in Descanso Gardens to the tunes of the Pasadena Pops Orchestra, boating around the Long Beach Harbor and Naples, and attending a cooking class together.]
• Next year will be no gifts. We're going to the Grand Canyon for Christmas! (We did this for the first time several years ago, in Yosemite. It snowed on Christmas morning. It was a gorgeous trip!)
• My sister was born on Christmas Day (2:30 a.m.) lo these 33 years ago. She was delivered to my mom swaddled in a ginormous red stocking. :-) Many people who learn of her birthday moan and mention how terrible they think having a Christmas birthday would be. Don't you get ripped off? Don't people give you combination gifts? Ever since I can remember, we have always held a Christmas Eve birthday party for her, a completely separate event from Christmas. It has morphed into both birthday and annual see-old-friends party. In years when we travel for Christmas, we hold the event on a different...and so many friends comment how weird Christmas Eve felt with no LittleSis party.
• Fervently praying for young Christian, son of my dentist (who has become at least a little more than an acquaintance). Christian has acute lymphoblastic leukemia, diagnosed over a year and a half ago. He's received two bone marrow transplants. With the first, the cancer recurred. With the second, his body and the donor marrow have not been getting along as well we'd like. The cancer is still gone, but he is suffering a 'multipass' of physical woes -- things no 14-year-old should have to endure. If anyone who reads this is the praying type, your petitions would be most appreciated. If you're interested in knowing more, visit his Caring Bridge site: http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/christianbarker.
• Looking forward to visiting with some old and dear friends this Christmas break! One is an old college buddy, another a retired colleague, and possibly a former student. I'm making a Christmas resolution to actually make contact with a couple other friends of yore. Why is it so easy to lurk on blogs and so difficult to make meaningful contact?
• I was forced to pack up my entire classroom (everything into boxes) so the carpet could be replaced over Christmas break. Now, I don't want to sound like an ingrate, because I'm actually thankful for new carpet -- the old stuff was ripping up, stained, and foul -- but doesn't it seem illogical to make me pack up twice in the same school year? Wouldn't it be more efficient to do it during the summer, when the room is already packed? I had to eat into instructional time and have my students help me pack, because there was no physically possible way I could have gotten it done on my own...save staying till 10 p.m. each night for at least a week...which I would have happily done during this Christmas season...when hell froze over...or if they actually paid me overtime for it. (Ha!) Our Key Club kids are coming in one day near the end of break...and so am I {sigh} to unpack everything and get it all back into place. It's that or lose another instructional day. Seems wrong.
• I wish you all a restful Christmas filled with reflection and renewal.