I am beginning to really resent our slave-like Calvert school schedule. It is ridiculous that I constantly have my eyeballs glued to a planner, yet it never dawns on me what day it really is. To me, it's just Lesson Day 62, and Jordan is currently slogging though Day 32, Rylan Day 46, and Owen Day 53. I live and breathe the mantra, How much can we get done today in the never-ending effort to get caught up, instead of noticing that fall has happened, Halloween has happened, Thanksgiving has happened, and HELLO? Christmas is just around the corner?? This curriculum is robbing us of quite a lot. :(
Fall has happened.
We did enjoy the fall - in a very limited way. A few leaf walks, a visit to an apple orchard, a hike, the pumpkin patch, Trick-or-Treating on Halloween, leaf raking... It was all crammed in and between everything else that makes the fall crazy - scout popcorn, scouting for food, Fall Camporee, (all compounded by adding Owen to the family scouting roster), Nutcracker practices, Lego... I don't like leaving seasonal and family rituals out of the schedule and then fitting them in where we can. There is no downtime, no spontaneity, and by Thanksgiving we are exhausted.
Thanksgiving has happened.
Thanksgiving was supposed to be spent at home in CO this year, but a schedule switch had to be made in order to accommodate a family trip to CA over New Years, so we went to OKC for Thanksgiving instead of Christmas, so that we wouldn't have two big trips just days apart. It actually worked out really well. We had a very good week in OKC, beginning with a family get-together the evening we arrived, which was great since that gave us a chance to see everyone - including our newest grandniece, now 9 months old. Since this year is the 'off year', in which all the families would be spending the holiday with their inlaws, we knew that our Thanksgiving would be just our family and Dean's folks. Eight of us. Can I just say how wonderful that was? Don't get me wrong - I love the whole family get-togethers and all, but for this wallflower, a small, intimate dinner with 'just us', was wonderful. In addition, this was not Jordan's scheduled holiday visitation with his mom, so he got to spend the week with us - and more importantly his grandparents, although we did agree that he could spend the night on Thanksgiving and most of Friday with his mom. He flies out to OKC in just a few more days, and will spend two weeks with her during Christmas.
Back to the actual event - there was no stress in cooking, no stress in traveling anywhere, no stress of a houseful of people, no stress in clean up.. there was just no stress at all! I didn't know what to do with myself in a nonstressed state. So I knitted. That stressed me out, so I felt better. My MIL handled the turkey, stuffing, green bean casserole and mashed potatoes, and I made the rolls, sweet potatoes and gravy. This was the first time - EVER - that Jordan had the quintessential childhood experience of waking up to the smell of roasting turkey. For 14 years that child has had to wait for that... a shame! I have only roasted a turkey once, (last Christmas??) and that was during the day, and I can't remember if he was here or not - he may have been with his mom, who doesn't cook. Every other holiday in which turkey is involved, the roasting happened at a house he was traveling to, so he never experience that wonderful smell that weaves its way into your dreams and wakes you up at 5:30 a.m. with a growling stomach! So glad he was with us.
Christmas is happening.
It is now the 10th, and all we have managed to do is drag the tree up from the basement last night, and untangle the lights. That's it. Oh, and I put up the advent calendar. And purchased a poinsettia and a wreath for the door. I love, love to decorate, yet there is just no time! :( I am in the process of clearing out about 500 curriculum books (no joke!) from the office shelves to put up my Santa and Nativity displays. That is the safest spot for them, so every year the books have to be moved temporarily - which, as you can imagine, is a huge chore. Especially when you have a bum knee.
I haven't even thought about Christmas presents. At all.
We are leaving for CA in about two weeks. I haven't thought about that either. Other than to think about temporary pet placement.
All that is on my mind (apart from stupid schoolwork) is the Nutcracker. After this weekend, it will be over. This is Rylan's third year performing in her dance academy's production, and it is the fourth year they have been putting it on. It is a 'smaller' performance overall when compared to others - the music has been edited for length, the set is more scaled back and it is performed in a high school auditorium, but it does seem to get bigger in scope every year. This year Rylan is dancing as a Gingerbread and as a butterfly during the Waltz of the Flowers. Dean and I are once again performing in the party scene. We are the 'parents' of four, including two very naughty boys, so we get to do a lot of 'scolding' during the party. Good times. No different from our daily life. I spent a very stressful week last week altering my dress so that it looked more 'festive' and period-appropriate. I will post pictures eventually. I'm not happy with it, but it will have to do. We performed last Friday at a different high school for some elementary kiddos, and then we perform twice this coming Saturday. It will be a long nine hours at the theater. Last year I was freaked out by it all. This year I am surprisingly calm.
