Parties, Performances, Ballets, Classroom Workshops, and So On.

It's the most wonderful time of the year! Well, maybe the most incredibly busy time of the year...

These past weeks have been jam packed, people, jam packed. The kids have been here, there, and everywhere, and like a mama duck following her brood (wait is that right?), I've been trying to keep up with all of the activities that this time of year requires of the little people in my life. I guess the tides have turned when their social calendars take precedence over mine...

Parties, performances, ballets, classroom workshops, and so on.

Every year since she was 2, my Ella has been to the Nutcracker ballet at the Koger Center. It's become a tradition for us to take her there. (Living in South Carolina, you have to grasp hold of any kind of cultural event that comes by and hang on for dear life.) Thankfully, the Nutcracker is beautifully done, and we love going to see what the Columbia City Ballet has in store for each year's interpretation of E.T.A Hoffman's story. Ella adores the ballet, the dancers, the costumes, the music, everything about it. And I love to see the sparkle in her eyes as she watches everything unfold. She's the kind of person who understands the emotional quality of what she sees, and it's amazing to see the expressions on her face change with the tone of the music.

The preschool where Summit attends (and where Ella went) has a field trip every year to the ballet at Christmas time for the wee ones. It's an abbreviated performance, for obvious reasons, that hosts preschools and young elementary students around the area. This wasn't Summit's first visit to the ballet, but it was the first that he'll remember going to. He got all gussied up for our special outing together, and rocked out his best behavior. Did he like it much? Not really. Was he impressed by the dudes in tights? Nope. But, he sat there so patiently and quietly and only asked ONCE when it would be over. When I asked if he'd like to go back a few days later with Ella and my mother and I, he told me, "No way. I have to watch the Panthers." Nice. I don't think his daddy could have been more proud.

With the ballets under our belt, we tended to the other events. Summit had a sweet performance at his preschool where all of the kids sang Christmas songs to their adoring parents. I'm always amazed by his stage presence. He LOVES the spotlight. He LOVES having everyone's attention. I always get a kick out of seeing my boy up in front of everyone shooting me thumbs up and blowing me kisses with the biggest smile this side of Texas super-glued to his little face. And, then there was Summit's classroom party. His teachers seriously rock. They had freezing cold letters, sent straight from the North Pole, delivered to the kids, each one personalized just for them from Santa, topped with a little magic dust. Awesome! However, I did learn of a few items requested of Santa of which I was unaware. Not so awesome. Guess I'm not so done with that shopping as I thought I was.

To end the semester for the second grade, Ella's teachers organized an Economics/Christmas Workshop for the kids for which I got to volunteer. At first, I was confused...well, bored by the idea of an economics workshop for second graders...but the whole thing was pretty neat. Each class was given and item to create. Ella's class made Christmas tree toppers. Within each class, there were different groups assigned to specific points in the production process... tracers, cutters, gluers, etc. The kids set a goal for how many toppers they'd complete each day, and for each day, they were paid $5 for their work. On the fifth day, each class took their products to the school's arena, where we set everything up like a market, and the kids were allowed to go shopping to spend the $20 (obviously not real money) they earned on the items that the second grade classes made. I was down with the whole thing except that each child HAD to spend ALL of their money. I didn't think that really taught them so much about savings or being charitable, especially when they were buying Christmas-themed items at a time of year when the idea is to give more than receive. But, I digress.

Parties, performances, ballets, classroom workshops, and so on. Sometimes it seems like so much, but I know that every second that my kids smile and enjoy life is so worth it. I would say that this is the most wonderful time of the year, but I think that every moment that I get to live my life and watch my kids laugh and grow and learn is the most wonderful thing in the world.