Two HUGE Hurdles Have Been Overcome...

Yes, that's right. First, I finished that huge paper, AND yesterday I turned in the big Language Sample Project for my Language Science class. For this project I had to record about a half hour of speech from a child and analyze it. Lucky for me, I happened to have a child at hand who was right within the age range needed for the project. That's right. AJ was my subject. I got the project done, and now all I have to do is worry about whether or not I did everything right until my professor grades the thing and gives it back to me. 

Two weeks from Monday is my first final. On the following Wednesday is my final final of the semester, and then I can do a happy dance. Oh yes indeed. It will be frightening, because I am a horrible dancer, but it will be awesome.

Christmas is coming up fast, and I'll be honest, I really can't help getting super excited about it every year. Here's hoping I'll never get over it. When I was a kid I was excited about opening my presents. Now that I am a mother, I get far more excited for my kids' sake. It is SO much fun seeing their joy and excitement on Christmas morning as they look under the tree and see all of their presents laying there. It's also super fun to see how happy they are when they look at Santa's cookie plate and see the cookie crumbs and empty milk glass...

I know that a lot of people out there don't think it's a good idea to basically lie to their kids about Santa until the kids get too old to believe anymore. I can understand this perspective on the issue, but I am of my mother's opinion. You have such a narrow window to allow these kids to enjoy the magical feeling that comes from believing in something like Santa Claus. They can become jaded so quickly, it's important to let them be kids for as long as possible. Let them believe in magic. Encourage it. It's such a vital part of growing up--using the imagination.

My parents never disillusioned us. We eventually reached that age where we decided for ourselves that we didn't believe in Santa anymore, and that was the end of it. I remember when my youngest sister, Nel, was old enough to really start thinking about this, and finally asked my mom if Santa was real. My mom, being the person that she is, simply said: "What do you believe?" Nel hesitated for a moment, and then said: "I don't think he's real." My mom just nodded and said: "Alright then." And that was it. 

I think that's one of the best things about my mom. She encouraged us to do the right thing, to do our best and keep moving forward, but she never forced us. She always allowed us to make our own decisions about our lives. Yes, at times when we screwed up she made sure that there were consequences for our bad choices, but she wasn't domineering. She only gave her opinion if we asked for it. Even then, she gave it in such a way that basically said: "This is what I think, but the choice is yours." I don't know about you, but I think that makes for one pretty amazing parent. 

Anyway, it's time to stop rambling. For now. I will surely find more to ramble about soon enough.