12.20.2002 | 10:23 pm

The nut tree was blissfully quiet. I stared around the room at the refuse from the holiday festivities. The party had been quite a success. All the little squirrels had passed out their treats and eaten their fill of sugar plums and candy dreams. The wrapping paper and bags from two dozen gifts was strewn around my chair in the reading corner, as all the little darlings had insisted on watching me open each and every special gift. The parents had been especially generous this year...nice candles, useful calendar, cutsie teacher paraphernalia with my favorites~ lots of apples, perfume from Bath & Body, note cards, movie passes, Christmas d�cor, gift certificates to Teaching Tools, more gift certificates to my favorite book store, hugs, notes that said, �I love you,� and �Thank you,� and �You are the best teacher,� and �The world is a better place because you became a teacher.� I was grateful, hungry for real food, tired, and went home and took a long winter�s nap. Next week, after Christmas, I will return and really put things in order....change the calendar to January, write lesson plans for the first week of the New Year, get two days completely ready for a substitute in case I get stranded in Bethlehem, correct papers, do report cards. A teacher�s work, like that of a mother�s, is never done!

Tonight we watched a silly movie on PAX TV about Santa�s daughter, played by Kathy Ireland. Silly is the best word for it. I think, in fact I know, I am in melt-down mode. It always takes me several days, after school lets out, to regain my energy, shift gears into homemaker/mother/granny mode, and get crackin�. Tomorrow I hope to hit the pavement running.

Oldest daughter and first year teacher came over for supper, such as it was tonight. She too, was breathing a huge sigh of relief. Her first semester was a true �baptism by fire!� She had many challenges... stealers, cheaters, profaners, and plain old BUMS to reckon with in her classes. I�ll take the little squirrels anytime. thank you. She was her jolly, joking self and had us all laughing around my invented dinner tonight. All my pizza coupons had expired so I went to the *dread* freezer, and concocted a stew of pork, onions, mushrooms, carrots, string beans,celery, rice, and that all American standard...Cream of Mushroom Soup! Hubby mixed up some baking powder biscuits and we had a fairly decent meal. Ahhh yes... simple life in the little house, minus the squirrels, for two whole weeks!

catsnapples~ in first grad and at life

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