letter to Santa

Sam wrote (well, dictated) his first letter to Santa this past weekend. I though I'd copy the letter contents here, just in case Santa follows my blog:

December 2011

Dear Santa,

I want a green flashlight for Christmas, too. Merry Christmas to Santa. The blue Lightning McQueen for Sam. Green scissors for Sam (that I can cut by myself).

Thank you and please.

Sam

Christmas music

Keeping up with the theme of Christmas entertainment, I thought that I would also jot down some of the Christmas music that I especially love during this time of year.

I know that there are more songs to add to this list, but these are all of the ones I can think of at present. I’ll continually add to this list as I remember other wonderful Christmas songs (or become familiar with ones!).

• "White Christmas" sung by Bing Crosby (both the recorded version or the version from the beginning of the film).

• "Jingle Bells" sung by Bing Crosby and the Andrews Sisters

• "The Christmas Song" (also called “Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire”) sung by Mel Tormé. (In 1963, the Judy Garland Christmas Show featured a fun duet for this song with Garland and Tormé).

• "Baby It’s Cold Outside" sung by Dean Martin (although I really love the new version that was recently released by American Idol contestants Casey Abrahms and Haley Reinhardt).

• "Christmas Blues" sung by Dean Martin (I'm guessing that the linked video is from a Colgate Comedy Hour episode.)

• "Let it Snow" sung by Dean Martin

• "Zat You, Santy Claus?" sung by Louis Armstrong

• "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" sung by Judy Garland (as performed in "Meet Me in Saint Louis")

• "Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town," specifically a jazzy arrangement by Kirby Shaw (This is a nostalgic song for me, since I sang this song in high school with my two close friends, Katie and Heather.)

•"Happy Xmas: The War is Over" by John Lennon (The music video for this song seems especially relevant this year, with all of the troops coming home.)

• "Wonderful Christmas Time" by Paul McCartney & Wings

I also love traditional,

sacred Christmas music

that has been written

over the centuries.

Choral performances

are some of my favorites.

• Handel’s "Messiah" (One of my favorite soprano soloists for the Messiah is Emma Kirby. I love listening to her agile, clear voice sing "For He is Like a Refiner's Fire.")

• "Lo How a Rose Ere Blooming," especially when sung by Frederica von Stade in the Carnegie Christmas concert (see below).

• "Coventry Carol" ("Lullay, Lullay, Thou Little Tiny Child")

• "O Come, O Come Emmanuel"

• "The Angel Gabriel" (sometimes called "Gabriel's Message")

• Benjamin Britten’s "A Ceremony of Carols" (Some of my favorites are "Procession," "Wolcum Yole," "Spring Carol," "Balulalow," "Deo Gracias," and "There is No Rose.")

• "Whence is that Goodly Fragrance Flowing?" (or in French: "Quelle est cette odeur agréable?")

• Music from the 1991 Carnegie Christmas Concert with Frederica von Stade, Kathleen Battle, and Wynton Marsallis (I included a photo of Frederica and Kathleen at the top of this post). "The Twelve Days of Christmas" performance is one of my favorites. And I love "Gesu Bambino." And the "Christmas Songs" medley.

•I also love listening to fantastic Christmas music sung by boy choirs.

There are some great YouTube clips of the King's College Cambridge

choir singing, "Tomorrow Shall Be My Dancing Day," "Sussex Carol,"

"Maria Sitzt am Rosenhag," "Coventry Carol,"

and "In the Bleak Mid Winter."

Okay. Now it’s your turn. What Christmas songs do you enjoy?

Image above: Giotto's Nativity from the Scrovegni Chapel (1305-1306).

Christmas movies

This Christmas season has been especially fun with Sam this year. Now he’s old enough to appreciate a lot of the Christmas movies that Jeremy and I enjoyed when we were young. J and I have a lot of fun showing him different Christmas shows, books, and holiday-related activities that enjoyed when we were younger. We’ve also tried some new activities too, like going to the “Snowflake Lane” presentation (with a drum line dressed up like toy soldiers).

Here are the children’s Christmas shows that we have introduced to Sam this year:

• The claymation Christmas movies, including Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Frosty the Snowman, and Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town.

• A Charlie Brown Christmas

• How Grinch Who Stole Christmas (see here and here)

• ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas (I don’t think I ever watched this show as a kid, but J watched it quite often.)

Sam especially loves How the Grinch Stole Christmas. We showed him the movie about the same time that we borrowed the Dr. Seuss book from J’s parents. Sam likes to reenact the Grinch’s movements while J reads the story. He especially likes to repeatedly pull down on an imaginary Max (see 5:32 of this clip), when the Grinch says, “It came without ribbons! It came without tags! It came without packages, boxes, or bags!” Oh, and he also likes to slither and slink around the Christmas tree like the Grinch (see 4:19 of this clip).

We also have had many-a-conversation about how the Grinch was able to lift the sleigh after his heart grew three sizes. I think Sam interprets the Grinch to be some kind of superhero.

I’ve enjoyed revisiting these children’s Christmas movies with Sam this year. It will be fun to introduce him to my own favorite Christmas shows, as he gets older. Two of my favorite Christmas shows are It’s a Wonderful Life and White Christmas. J grew up watching the musical Scrooge with his family; he always wants to watch that show before Christmas. (I know – it’s a shocker that my husband actually likes a musical.) He also likes to watch Edward Scissorhands sometime around the holiday season. So, I guess for us, Christmas isn’t complete unless we can celebrate with Jimmy Stewart, Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney, Albert Finney, and Johnny Depp.

What are your favorite Christmas movies (for the young and/or old)?

on aging

Marble statue of an old woman, 1st century AD (Roman). Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Over the past several weeks, I have gotten up early just about every weekday morning. I wake up between 6:00 and 6:30 (or "in the sixes," as my sister-in-law would say). And as I rush around and drive to work at such an unhuman hour (at least, an unhuman hour for me), I have felt the effects of gravity. My face seems to sag that early in the morning. My eyes look tired and droopy. I feel like I have jowls on my face (which, luckily, I really don't). Sometimes I wonder if wrinkles are sprouting on my face the moment that I look away from the mirror. I just feel old. And my body feels old. Sometimes I feel like I've aged four years in the past four months.

With my thirtieth birthday approaching next year, I can't help but think about aging. I've never really thought much about being old (or being middle aged), because, well, I've always been young. And now I've started to realize that I care about being young (and looking young), at least a little bit. Since when did I care about that kind of stuff? This is an interesting realization for me, especially since I feel like I'm rather casual when it comes to my appearance. Sure, I wear a little makeup, but I can't remember the last time I wore something like a mud mask.

I'm psychologically adjusting to the fact that I'm not that young anymore. Maybe I'm just youngish? Or maybe I'm not even that?

feedback to buoy me up

Sometimes I feel like I'm working my brains and heart out this quarter, all to no avail. Even though I have had a lot of frustrating and difficult moments this quarter (especially with my online class and plagiarists), this afternoon I felt like all of the anxiety and stress was worth it. In my inbox, I found this email from a student:

"I just wanted to let you know how much I like the online class. It is one of the most fascinating classes that I have ever taken. I think you are a great professor. You have not just taught me about the art itself, but also to appreciate the artwork even more. . . Honestly, if I would have had you as a professor earlier in my college life, I probably would have been an art major...Thank you for teaching me so much about the history of art, I will never look at artwork the same way."

This email means a lot to me. After all of the stress, drama, and anxiety that has surrounded the past few weeks - I feel like I've made a difference.

happy halloween!

This past month has been one of the busiest and most stressful periods that I've had in a long time. I've kept on thinking, "If I can just get through October, then I'll be alright until the end of the school quarter." I've pulled several sixty-hour work weeks, which has been rather taxing on top of parenting, day-to-day errands, etc. But now, after grading about 50 essays and 115 essay exams over the past three weeks (in addition to lecture prep and teaching), I can say that I have survived October. Phew! I'm not sure how it happened. Somehow I even ended up writing an eight page paper, which I'll be delivering at a conference later this week. The worst is over. I've made it through October, and this Halloween seems especially celebratory.

About two weeks ago, J's work hosted a Halloween costume party (which replaced the "holiday party" that the company typically throws in December). J's co-workers decided to dress up in "holiday sweaters," as a witty reference to the fact that we were attending a holiday party. So, here we are in holiday sweaters, courtesy of J's parents. We had a fun time, but I think I look a little stressed and tired in the picture. My smile also says, "I have ten more essays to grade after I get home tonight."

Doctor Sam!

This year Sam has been so excited about the Halloween season, since this really is the first year that he understands about the holiday and the concept of trick-o'-treating. I even purchased some decorations for the house (which is uncharacteristic for me), just because Sam was so excited to see decorations around the neighborhood.

fall is here!

After teaching my class this morning, Sam and I headed out to a pumpkin patch with some friends. It was nice to be in the crisp autumn air and feel a little bit more in-touch with the season. Sometimes I feel like I am so focused on work projects (this quarter is crazy!) and taking care of Sam, that I forget to appreciate the slow, subtle changes that take place in the fall.

I've noticed that the leaves have started to change colors around our house. In just about a week, we'll have a menagerie of vibrant, roaring color around here. I can't wait.