A Christmas Program

It surprises me that it until Alyssa is in the third grade for us to be invited to attend a Christmas program presented by the first, second, third and fourth graders of Alyssa’s school.

Kindergarten year? No Christmas program.

First grade? Nope.

Second grade, new school? Still no program.

I was so disappointed each of those years. I remember my elementary Christmas programs with a sentimental yearning. I want both of my girls to remember getting dressed up, going to school in the cold dark evening, waiting breathlessly for the curtain to open to reveal them along with their friends to those of us in the audience, scanning said audience for the familiar faces of parents and grandparents, sneaking a wave to Mom or Dad just before the music starts.

This year? We got our program.

And it was as wonderfully awful as I’m sure all of mine were. The absolute best part? Alyssa on stage in her Grinch green dress with her red tights and red sweater, grinning at me and Tom and my mom, waving her hand ever so sneakily so we could see that she’d seen us.

The worst part? The fourth grade recorder concert. Oh dear. It was as if they just played Three Blind Mice over and over and over again. But then, my child wasn’t there with her recorder, so I didn’t have anything like adoration to shield my ears from the horror.

But the third grade? They were awesome as they sang “Deck the Hall”, “Frosty the Snow Man” and “Up on the Housetop.” Perhaps the parents of the first/second/fourth graders might not have agreed but truly, in my unbiased opinion, the third graders totally outshined the rest of the grades.

Alyssa had her outfit picked out weeks in advance, lacking only the red cardigan needed to complete the ensemble. We ended up picking it up at Sears for $.41 last Saturday. It was originally $25 so I think we got a good deal.

My mom curled A’s hair with hot rollers and oh, the thrill of it all. O also got in on the action with the hot rollers. Her hair is now long enough all over that you can wrap a roller around it. She was thrilled to be getting beautified along with her sister.

So that was Monday. And it was fun. I have high hopes of Christmas programs in the coming years.

Alas, with all the programming and the traveling for awesome parties and the shopping, the laundry isn’t getting done and those Christmas cards haven’t written themselves no matter how hard I try to get them to.

So tonight? Christmas cards. Tomorrow night? Laundry and more laundry. This weekend? We’re scheduled to spend at least one entire day at home, per Alyssa’s request. What can I possibly get done on such a day? Baking, more laundry? The floors might even get swept/vacuumed. It could happen.

I hope all your holiday festivities are coming along well and that the typical sense of being overwhelmed drives right over you this year.