Merry Christmas

Tis the night before Christmas

and all through the house,

just one creature is stirring...

it is Mama Mouse.

The last few touches are done and I am off to bed.

So Merry Christmas to you all.  And to you all a good night.

Cabin Fever

They say that in pioneer times trappers would get cabin fever during the winter.  The results were not pretty.

It has been freaky cold for two weeks.  Mornings, with windchill, start at -40C.  The sun take sthe worst of the edge off for a few hours, but since it sets shortly after 4PM, the cold seems to descend again awfully fast.

We have had three Sundays in a row where our planned trip to town for church and errands was impeded by frozen waterlines and car trouble.

I am really starting to feel the cabin fever creeping up.

Need to find some projects to putter on.

Yo-Yo

This morning I went to work.  I met with two teachers about their kiddos.  I was so impressed by both of them.  They know their kiddos really well.  A sure sign of a caring teacher.  And they both are striving hard to differentiate so that each kiddo has the change to succeed in their learning.  I was so thrilled to be able to work with people like this.  Another colleague has been wrestling with her class's service project for the holidays; materials that weren't what she ordered.  She came in to share, with a great big smile, how she solved the problem.  She anticipates a successful service project.  That is really important to her kiddos.  My little kiddo who I work with 1:1 had a really great morning, finding things to laugh about with me throughout our whole session together.  I am completely in love with my job!

This afternoon I went to Town and had an interview for another job.  I completely bombed it.  I spent the entire drive home shaking myself and stiffening my upper lip to keep from crying.  Why?  I am sure the interview committee turned to one another wondering who that fool was and why on earth she thinks she is qualified for the job after I left the room.  That is definitely part of it.  I don't want the job.  That is more of it.

But I feel so much pressure right now.  To be a good parent.  To provide my own Sprouts with the best possible opportunity for learning and success.  To have a house that actually belongs to us (equity, equity, equity). And all that seems to require that I work in Town rather than on the Rez.  So I keep applying for jobs and I grieve in advance for the day when I will have to say goodbye to my kiddos here.

I pray for guidance.  I pray that God will align my will to His.

And all I feel is a stronger desire to stay right here.

Hammers and Hairdryers

In really cold weather some things don't do well.  Me.  Cars.  And, apparently, exterior house doors.

This evening I let the dog out for her evening trip to the facilities and closed the door.  When she came back in I attempted to close the door again.  No go.  After several more tries to close it quietly (as the rest of the family is abed) I called upstairs to ask for help.

"Slam it as hard as you can."

Alrighty.

Still no go.  Why won't the door close?

Ice has formed along the weatherstripping that we attached along the opening edge to seal an old, no-longer-weather-proof door.

LK came down and gently applied a hammer to the ice. I followed up with a quick blow out.  The door looks lovely now.  Thankfully it also closes.

Another item on the house list - doors that seal in super cold weather.

Snow Day, NOT

The snow is up to our knees.  This morning we woke up to a fresh 5 inches.

Last time we had a big dump, no school.

People complained.

So this time, even though most of the community's road weren't plowed, the bus went all the way around picking up kids.  On the way to school LK and I stopped to give our principal a ride.  His car was stranded and he was walking.  I had to make a second run to pick up our finance guy as his car doesn't have winter tires yet.  On that run I passed kindergarteners struggling through the snow to get to school.

Good to know they wanted to be there.

But would it have killed us to take it slow and safe and wait at least until the roads were plowed?

Just shaking my head at this crazy world.

Perfectly Timed

Yesterday morning when it was time to start the car and head off to school LK was not too thrilled to discover that someone had left the back tailgate not-quite-closed for the whole night.  As a result the car battery was dead.  After the requisite growling under his breath the problem was easily solved with a quick boost from our neighbours.

At the end of the day we were reminded that when the car battery is dead it usually requires running for a while to recharge the battery.  We hadn't done that in our short four minute commute.  So another boost was in order.  This time the grumbling was louder and sighs of exasperation from all family members who had to sit in a cold car while they waited for help.

Nobody in the family was in a sparkling mood as we neared home.

As the house came into view, it became apparent that the dog was running free.  Odd!  And there were people walking around on our driveway.  Odder!

It finally dawned on us that two of our neighbours had let Astrid out of her pen to play with Tobey (her best-friend next door, with whom she loves to wrestle and frolic) and shovelled our driveway.  They were just finishing up as we arrived home.

There is nothing quite so marvellously mood-lifting as an act of perfectly timed kindness from a neighbour.  As we curled up in the house, LK and I realized that in all our time here, that is the very first time that a neighbour (except for my dad) has ever done that.

We have a very special group of 'kids' living in our neck of the woods this year.