Yesterday, I felt like getting into the Christmas spirit. I got out our little tree and decorations.
Our stockings are on the way. Now that we have a real fireplace I thought it was time to get personalized stockings for the whole family. Since it takes at least a month to get things from the US, I’m hoping they arrive before Christmas.
I put on some Christmas music–all a cappella, of course. Oh, did I say that learning languages was my favorite nerdy activity? I have deceived you, my friends. In college, my friend Ann Marie and I started an a cappella group at Georgetown called the Saxatones (get it? Hoya saxa?). Dan teased me for years about my singing because he was thinking Andy Bernard from The Office and not Beca from Pitch Perfect. Thanks to that movie, my husband thinks I’m cool. But I was definitely more like the blond dictator than the cool chick. Years later I took my first management course in grad school and had plenty of examples from my Saxatones days of how not to lead people.
I miss singing. It was always my creative outlet. I was usually in more than one singing group at a time, so singing was like a part-time job for me during college. I got to travel to New York and Miami to sing for fancy-schmancy alumni events. I sang in the church choir, the concert choir, the Chamber Singers. I met President Clinton and sang for him, too. Now I am lucky if I find myself at karaoke night once every couple of years.
Back to yesterday: I sang along with the music, which I am sure everyone enjoyed. Honestly, though, I think the girls were so happy to sit around with us in the living room and just talk listen to music. Charlotte didn’t even ask for a movie and Willa was in a great mood all day.
After singing my family’s ears off, I thought it would be fun to make cookies. Surprisingly, Charlotte is old enough now that she can actually do most of the work involved. She added ingredients to the mixer and she even rolled out the dough (with some help). Cutting out shapes and letters was a blast for her.
Decorating the cookies was the grand finale.
I love Christmas because it’s for everyone, and can be shared with my family and friends of different faiths. Yes, of course there is a religious Christmas too. That happens on December 25th for us, and January 7th for Ethiopians. But for me, the month of December is all about the secular aspects of the holiday. The tree, the music, the cookies. Being with family, enjoying the season. And we still have a few more weeks to go!
