Twas the Night Before, Night Before Christmas...

Christmas is almost upon us, but the stores have reminded us about Christmas for the past two months.  Christmas items were up in Walmart almost before Halloween was complete.  I watched Charlie Brown Christmas and The Christmas Story today for the first time in . . . I'm not exactly sure how long--definitely elementary or junior high school.  Charlie Brown Christmas lamented the commercialization of Christmas and yet was inundated with commercials that took longer than the entire show.  The Christmas story, while also a classic, deals with how a boy's Christmas wasn't complete without the one gift he truly wanted--though he did get it in the end.  

However, even with all the commercialization, I think that this year is the first in a while that I have seen better Christmas spirit from people overall--for me, at least.  I've seen the kindness of strangers as they allowed me and my friends to go ahead in line at a restaurant because we had B's children with us.  I've seen more people smiling than normal as they shop in Walmart.  I've heard more people say "Merry Christmas" than in past years.  I've witnessed the kindness of the people in my workplace, and I've received many kind remarks from my students during exam week.

I've also seen a more relaxed spirit in my friends and family alike overall.  I had a special weekend with my best friend and her husband and their children (my godsons).  Though the traffic and the malls were crazy,  we both had success in our shopping and in enjoying each other's company.  Although I was tired from the previous exam week and the Christmas party, the trip actually re-energized me and kept at the forefront of my mind the importance of family, as they are my second family.

My parents' house has more Christmas decor than I ever remember, but it's more than the amount--it's the warmth and love that went into the decorations.  I always look forward to seeing the lights that my Dad puts up at the gate because I know that they produce a circular joy that moves through each of my family members when they come home each day.  My parents' foreign exchange students have blended their own families traditions into ours that we can see on the Christmas tree and throughout the house and even in our meals.  

I'm looking forward to spending the next few days with my family.  I hope that you will also enjoy your time with your family.  And, if you cannot be with your family, I send you warm wishes and comfort during these days.

Merry Christmas.  Happy Christmas.  Love to you all.

Post Yuletide Blowout Fallout

The warm, grey December weather perfectly suits my recovery mood from the party last night.  We had a great time, but good times require compensation.  So, Kin* and I are watching The Good Wife, Season One, while we wait for the grey to abate.  Our plan for tonight?  Sushi and Dave's with E and Z.  Then, tomorrow, I leave for Huntsville to see my precious godsons and my best friend.  I'll also be checking in with my friends at Tony's Little Italy--some of the best authentic Italian in Huntsville.  I worked there for several months in the spring when I was looking for a job after getting my Master's degree.  An interesting place that is just begging for some fiction writing--something that will be happening very soon.

I'm ready for a break, though.  Ready for some days when it'll just be me and my laptop, writing stories so that I'll be ready for Craft of Fiction in the spring.  Yes, I'll be teaching composition and taking classes--the spring semester will be crazy--but I'm in desperate need of learning something new that will help me focus on writing.  Sometimes we teachers get buried in grading so much that we forget why we became teachers in the first place--to learn and teach--because we can only teach when we learn at the same time.

Speaking of teaching, I received a partial copy of the student evals of my classes today.  I get the full copy when school starts back.  Overall, they were positive, but I wish the students would write more comments than they do.  It's difficult to make the class better when they only answer in the affirmative and not in the why or how.  Unfortunately, that's par for the course these days.  A teacher asks a question, and the students answer the what if that what is explicit.  However, if the teacher asks why or how, the students don't know how to analyze enough in order to answer.  I wish I could teach the students how to analyze and answer more implicit questions, but the students can only learn to do that if they actually read the assignments.  Ah, the life of a teacher.  One of my students actually wrote a paper discussing how teachers should be paid according to how well their students perform.  While I understand his point-of-view in that this might prevent bad teachers from entering classrooms, I told him that he must also account for the fact that teachers can only teach those who wish to be taught.  Now, that's a thought: students in school that actually are there to learn.

Hmm, so this weather does help with writing.  Or maybe it's this format that's helping.  Whatever it is, I'm planning on continuing.  Thanks for listening.


*All names are changed to protect the not-so-innocent.