What a compliment

LW just now: Mommy, I love you better than Wall-E.

(Wall-E has only left his hand to have his wheel superglued back on.)

Geography: A lost art

Potential guest on phone: I'm in Connecticut. Am I near the north end of Vermont or the south end?

I did it

Ever since I've had kids, it seems I spend Christmas Eve in a tizzy. There was the year I stayed up late trying to assemble EM's tricycle without waking him up. There was the year I spent Christmas Eve driving to Wal-Mart in nasty weather to buy a replacement TV for one that went out in a guest room. There have been last-minute trips to the grocery store for stocking stuffers. And almost always, there are presents to wrap after the kids go to bed.

This year, I finally managed to get everything done before December 24.

I did pick up a few things for Michael's stocking while EM was practicing reading into the microphone at church. (He read Psalm 98 at tonight's service.) And I wrapped the last five presents this afternoon. But it was all very relaxed.

I read to LW. I played Settlers with the older kids. I started an online game of Scrabble with my sister.

Since we got back from the Christmas Eve service, I've been relaxing on the couch, looking at the lights. In a few minutes, I'll finish the last bit of kitchen cleanup and help Michael bring out the presents.

Next year will probably be back to the usual chaos, but I thought I'd appreciate the rare year when it's peaceful.

Kids. Who really understands them?

As I might have mentioned, LW is a picky eater. There are many, many foods he just won't try. Unusual foods like hot dogs, hamburgers, peaches, cheddar cheese.

And he is stubborn. A recent standoff with one of his preschool teachers is now known as The Pear Incident. He still asks me every morning if they are serving pears for snack at preschool.

So imagine my surprise when tonight at dinner, after eating two crescent rolls (and refusing steak, baked beans, and broccoli), LW decided he wanted to try tour de marze*, of all things. And ate three slices.

Maybe we should offer him shrimp.

* A soft French cheese, rather like Brie.

Lost luggage

Our housekeeper just brought me a suitcase that was left in room 3. The guests were walk-ins last night, so I pulled the registration card to get a phone number for them.

It's a fake phone number. The area code does not exist. And it's very clearly written, so there is no doubt.

Not only that, but this guest doesn't have a credit card (or at least that's what he claimed when he checked in) so I'm going to need cash in hand before I ship the suitcase back to him.

Anyone know the appropriate amount of time I need to keep this suitcase kicking around before I can toss it? Some questions Miss Manners just doesn't address.

Advent reading

During Advent I've been reading Watch for the Light, which contains selections from a variety of writers, one for each day of Advent.

So far, my favorite excerpt has been by Alfred Delp, a Jesuit priest, written while he was in prison shortly before he was executed by the Nazis.

Many of the things that are happening today would never have happened if we had been living in that movement and disquiet of heart which results when we are faced with God, the Lord, and when we look clearly at things as they really are. 83

The first thing we must do if we want to be alive is to believe in the golden seed of God that the angels have scattered and still offer to open hearts. The second thing is to walk through these gray days oneself as an announcing messenger. So many need their courage strengthened, so many are in despair and in need of consolation, there is so much harshness that needs a gentle hand and an illuminating word, so much loneliness crying out for a word of release, so much loss and pain in search of inner meaning. God's messengers know of the blessing that the Lord has cast like seed into these hours of history. 89

I also liked this quotation from Loretta Ross-Gotta's excerpt.

The intensity and strain that many of us bring to Christmas must suggest to some onlookers that, on the whole, Christians do not seem to have gotten the point of it.

Hunkering down

I'm supposed to be arriving at EM's first middle school band concert right about now, but the school canceled all evening activities due to the approaching storm. If it delivers what the meteorologists are promising, the kids stand a good chance at a snow day tomorrow.

I've been anticipating the concert, as the band concerts are somewhat notorious for their length. Roughly three hours, from what I understand. I was curious to see if my own experience confirmed that.

Now I'm concerned about which snow date they will choose. Next week looks crowded already: lodging Christmas party on Monday, two holiday performances for the twins on Tuesday, and a professional brass concert (and our anniversary) on Thursday. I've been trying to get tickets to that annual concert for three years. It's free, but you need a ticket and they just fly out the door. This is the first year I've managed to call early enough to secure one. Keep your fingers crossed for a good snow date, will you?