A Pre-Christmas Rambling

There are seven days until Christmas, and I'm freaking out.
We are two school days away from Christmas break.
16 learning hours left. Might as well be zero.

Today was A DAY.
We couldn't put our names on papers. We didn't bring the same supplies we've been bringing since August. We admitted we hadn't done our homework for four days and couldn't understand why Miss Fink looked like she was going to explode.

And I know that every teacher in America is currently dealing with the same. At any grade level, in any town, kids are just done. They know it's almost time, and they're done.

And I'll be honest, I want to be done, too. I don't want to grade those papers that I HAVE TO GET GRADED BECAUSE I'M NOT DOING IT OVER BREAK. I don't want to put in grades and plan for the first week of January and take down my Christmas decorations and freshen up my classroom for 2020.

I want to stay home with a hot cup of something and watch Christmas movies. I want to go shopping at a time when it isn't insanely crowded. I want to sleep until the sun actually has risen.
The only thing that has gotten me out of bed for the past two weeks has been dress-up days at school. And tomorrow we wear pajamas, so you know I'm ready for that.

But there is another side to this. I don't have children of my own or nieces and nephews {my only nephew has four legs and likes to play with sticks, so he doesn't really get excited by Christmas}. My students are my window into that "kid world Christmas." They tell me when they've gone to visit Santa. They tell me what their Elf-on-the-Shelf did last night while they were sleeping. They tell me about their church Christmas pageants. They get dressed up for their Christmas concerts and are excited and nervous to sing for their families. They tell me that their cousins are coming or that they went to see the zoo lights or that they watched Elf last night.

There's a beauty to this innocent way they see the holidays. It's way too easy to let the stress of the season get you down. When you stand in line at Kohls for a good thirty minutes and your hand cramps up because you're carrying {item redacted, considering it is a Christmas gift} the whole time...when you wake up in a cold sweat because you forgot someone on your list...when you wonder about even putting up a tree because you're just going to have to take it down...when you realize you forgot to bake/wrap/send Christmas cards...

There are seven days until Christmas, and I'm freaking out...because I haven't let myself enjoy it the way I should. I've let all the other things get in the way. I haven't looked at Christmas lights. I haven't wrapped anything I don't need tomorrow. I haven't listened to half of my Christmas playlist.
I haven't eaten a single Christmas cookie.

Today as I was driving home from work, I was listening to one of my all-time favorite Christmas albums:  Francesca Battistelli's Christmas. The second song is an original of hers called Heaven Everywhere, and I cannot sing along without crying. The words are beautiful...
I hear the bells, they're ringing loud and clear
You can't help but love this time of year
It's Christmas time, there's something in the air
There's a little bit of heaven everywhere
Somehow there's a little more of love
Or maybe there's a little less of us
Or maybe we're just slightly more aware
There's a little bit of heaven everywhere
I think I needed to hear that song today. Maybe you do, too, so I'm posting a video here for your viewing pleasure. 

There are seven days until Christmas, and I am done freaking out.
I am done stressing out.
I am done postponing my enjoyment of the season.

I am ready to sing about marshmallow worlds, sleigh bells, and shepherds watching their flocks at the top of my lungs.
I am ready to eat WAY too much sugar. {Isn't healthy eating what January is for?}
I am ready to get lost in a sea of wrapping paper, ribbons, and tape.
I am ready to cry when the Grinch's heart grows three sizes, when Michael Caine reforms his miserly ways and gives Kermit-the-Bob-Crachit-Frog a raise, and when General Waverly enters the dining room at the Columbia Inn in his full military uniform.
I am ready to reflect on silent nights and prophecies of old, on angel songs and shining stars.

There are seven days until Christmas. My Christmas spirit showed up just in time.

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