Categories: uncategorized
Date: 15 December 2004 23:00:32
A special treat for all my maths classes this morning. An end of term test. Mwahahahahaha.... well, we teachers have to have a bit of Christmas fun, don't we? Actually it wasn't my idea, and I had a bit of a battle over it because the test that had been run off for my Y7 class was more than half made up of topics we haven't covered yet, and I don't believe in giving special needs children tests they can't do. I think our poor coordinator gets a bit fed up of me greeting his ready-prepared tests with "Oh no, we can't do that".
I really felt in the Christmas spirit today. I love Christmas. I love the sacred Christmas and I love the secular one and, to be honest, I don't have the slightest bit of difficulty combining the two. I don't aim for perfection - in this household that'd be like planning to climb Everest before teatime - and we don't go for overindulgence - we just thoroughly enjoy ourselves. Sometimes it takes a bit of determination. Dad hates Christmas and is always at his worst on that particular day and it takes all my powers of patience to ignore him and work round him, but we usually find a way. And because I didn't grow up with any particular Christmas traditions (apart from the one of staying well clear of Dad on "putting the decorations up" day), apart from an enjoyment of the season, it makes it all the more fun creating our own "traditions" together.
Today was phase one (ish) of our traditions. First of all I dashed home from work for Smudgelet's Christmas play. It was brilliant. Truly magical. It was called "The Royal Box" and was based on the idea of the Queen and Prince Philip sitting in their PJs watching afternoon TV on Christmas Day. Each time they changed the channel they saw a different musical - each put on by a different class in the school - and Smudgelet's was Mary Poppins. He looked a treat in his suit and bowler hat, and was splendid as Mr Banks.
Afterwards I waited for both boys to come home from school and whisked them off in search of Christmas. As I said, this is always one of the first really Christmassy things we do. We visited the local garden centre which is handed over to a total celebration of Christmas at this time of year (which is the obvious time of year for it to be so, I suppose!). A mass of tinsel, lights, moving figurines, singing Christmas trees.... we love it! The boys get to choose some new decorations - this year some lights for Tiddles who adores lights, and a huge golden cardboard star mobile for Smudgelet - and sneak off secretly to find me a Christmas present without me knowing anything at all about it... apart from suddenly finding myself £5 poorer! And the best bit of all is watching the moving figures - a North Pole scene made up of life-sized penguins, seals and polar bears; a parachuting Santa; a forest full of deer and, best of all, a gorgeous nativity scene which makes the boys gasp with delight. Then just time for a Grumpy Meal before driving home through the Bear Forest (obligatory stop en route to turn the lights off and experience complete darkness while looking for the glint of the bears' eyes through the trees) and off to bed.
Down to earth with a bump tonight, mind. My sister finally said the A word which has been hovering in the back of all our minds but we haven't really dared voice before. Alzheimers. It feels as though thinking it somehow makes it more likely, and certainly feels like a betrayal. And the word alone seems a violation of the proud and loving man my father has been. A challenge for all of us, if it turns out to be the case. One benefit only I can see - that maybe the sudden mood swings that make him so unpleasant to the children will be "explainable" as something they can understand as part of his condition and not take too much to heart.
But that is something to dwell on in the daylight hours, not just before bed, so I'll go to sofa and dream of tinsel.
Merry Christmas.