As the Holiday of the Half-Lit Tree comes to an end,

(and not coincidentally, the year),  I'm thinking about how things have been this past year, what I learned, what I lost and gained. 

• I earned tenure
• a new enjoyment in my bike(s)
• a far better understanding of what depression means for me long-term
• a recognition that school (for the kids) takes up as much of our energy as it does theirs
• I met some new students and said goodbye to some good ones
• I have worked in a role that has forced me to strehhhhhhhhhhtch

anyway, there's plenty to navel-gaze about, to ponder, to plan to do better, and so on.  Isn't that what this post-Christmas week is for?  Other than cleaning up, I mean.

We do it for them.

At the Manger

(Titian)

I. Mary
O shut your bright eyes that mine must endanger
With their watchfulness; protected by its shade
Escape from my care: what can you discover
From my tender look but how to be afraid?
Love can but confirm the more it would deny.
    Close your bright eye.

Sleep. What have you learned from the womb that bore you
But an anxiety your Father cannot feel?
Sleep. What will the flesh that I gave do for you,
Or my mother love, but tempt you from His will?
Why was I chosen to teach His Son to weep?
    Little One, sleep.

Dream. In human dreams earth ascends to Heaven
Where no one need pray nor ever feel alone.
In your first few hours of life here, O have you
Chosen already what death must be your own?
How soon will you start on the Sorrowful Way?
    Dream while you man.

.   .   .

III. Wise Men
Child, at whose birth we would do obsequy
For our tall errors of imagination,
Redeem our talents with your little cry.

(Auden)

Two Days Prior to Christmas

. . . and the children are crazy with excitement, and the parents are looking a little . . . frayed . . .

It's time to look at course evaluations!

Here's the gist:

Very enthusiastic and energetic.  He tends to go off on tangents and they are hard to follow.

• I have "incredible energy and passion" that is "contagious."
• "I loved the attitude that was intentionally generated by the professor it was very positive and humorous."
• "Great guy."
• "BLACKBOARD is a very useful tool to review the syllabus, post grades, and would have been beneficial."  (fat chance . . . until they make Blackboard better)
• My "teaching rants" were particularly good.
• "Keep baring your inner nerd! It's what makes your classes the best."
• "Made jokes and funny comments to avoid boring us . . . others should take his class, because literature is boring, but he makes it a little interesting."

Thoughts

1.  In a strange twist of fate, it looks like I'll be teaching Sunday school again.  At least until I say something too heterodox.

2.  I get my lip sliced on tomorrow.  Looking forward to some Christmas stitches.

3.  Walked into Barnes & Noble last night, and discovered that they have totally changed their approach in the past half year or so.  Half the store at least was taken up with Nooks and toys and games (not to mention the music/video section).  Makes sense from their standpoint, especially now that Borders has bitten the dust.

4.  Discovered something this past week:  when at home with the children, it helps one's sanity to just give up entirely on doing one's own "stuff."  There is no way to do anything other than pay attention to what the children are saying/needing/doing/getting into.  And that's assuming the kitties are behaving.

5.  The Eldest has finished Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and started reading James and the Giant Peach to Honey last night.  She was horrified at the first chapter, when James's parents get eaten by a giant rhino and he has to go live with his two evil aunts.  How to explain Roald Dahl's brand of the macabre to a grandmother?  hmmm.  I remember loving those books so much at his age.  It has been fun to hear him laugh out loud at some of the stuff he reads.

Days off

I am assuredly still alive. This is the recovery/mr. Mom phase post semester. I shall have more to say anon.

Monday Update, Deluge Edition

 It started raining on Saturday evening and hasn't stopped yet.  Pretty sure the cattle are going to be floating away any time now.

Number One Son has made his list to "S-N" (i.e., Saint Nick).  He gave it to Frisbee, our elf, to take to the North Pole (he, like Piers, is a true believer). His list includes the following items (just as he wrote them):

• skateboard
• iPod
• real guitar
• football uniform
• wings
• remote control robot
• wind controller
• Power gloves

Read an article on Friday of last week that sums up much of what my thinking has been over the past couple of years.  Snip:

The progress Christian and the bank executive share the same heathen thinking about the mechanics of human being.  “If he has will power and guts, he will make the grade.”  Give, get.  Pay, receive.  Hand over, get back.  Work, pay.  Offer, exchange.  Tell the truth, avoid depression and addiction.  The relentless pursuit of perfection.  The process of perfecting ourselves.  You act, and Jesus reacts.  Progress Christendom abides by these rules.

Progress may sneak some language into his lexicon about “relying on God” or “letting go,” but the listener should not be deceived into thinking that progress does not believe that a little prayer and elbow grease will solve the problem.  Progress thinks in a very Hindu way, and his advice bears little relation to the Christian doctrines of justification and whatever it is that we call sanctification.  The progress Christian might wear religious garb, adhere to Christian doctrine, and obey Christian commands.  But he adds fuel to a fire that slowly burns away at the world.

 And sure enough, in Sunday School yesterday, there was an awful lot of talk along these very lines.  Read through to the end of the article.

Our Christmas Tree is a wreck.  Only half the lights work, and as the days go by, more and more ornaments disappear from its lower branches.  Sigh.  It was a nice tree, too.

The Runner finished the Memphis St. Jude half marathon this past Saturday.  She had a great time--so much so, that she'll be running another one in a few weeks.  She and LE, who lives next door with her husband J and little one G, have a great time running together.  Proud of her; glad for her to have this thing she does and loves so much.  Even if it's crazy.

Adventures in Parenting, Vol. 33

So on Wednesday night this past week, Number One Son complained about feeling ill and indeed fell asleep before 6:30.  It was about 12:30 in the morning when he finally threw up in his bed, and we did the whole shuffling around thing & stripping of bed linens and changing of clothes (without waking up either of his brothers, I might add).  The Runner was quite concerned that he had The Dreaded Stomach Bug, but fortunately, he slept soundly the rest of the night.

The following morning, he was "too sick to go to school," which meant that we had to do some creative thinking about our schedules.  This was fine.  The remarkable thing is that by about 9:30 or so, he appeared to be in perfect health.  Imagine that.

I remember pulling the same "sick" trick a few times when I was in 1st grade at Garden Hills Elementary School in Atlanta GA.  I'm wondering in retrospect if it wasn't a manifestation of anxiety of some sort.

He went to school just fine on Friday...didn't appear to have suffered for missing a day.  Imagine that.