Hello, Visitors

Hoping for a teeny bit of a bump in my number of visitors this week as I am taking a technology in the classroom course for my "real" job.

So...

Little Doll

Papa M.'s new baby, to be given at Christmas. (Ordered from this Etsy shop - fabulous craftsmanship and customer service.)

 
If I had a dream for the world it would be that every child, girl or boy, should have a doll. There is something exceptionally special about those soft little beings made solely to be loved by a child. There is so much to be learned from caring for someone else, even if that someone is made of cloth or plastic. You find your empathy, caring for a doll, at it's deepest roots, because, no matter how good your imagination is, at your core you still know that even if you don't wrap Dolly up tight or you forget to give him his afternoon snack, Dolly won't freeze and certainly won't go hungry. Yet, it's still done, often with a great sense of urgency and seriousness. What vast wells of love must we doll caregivers have to love so mightily someone who doesn't really need us and will never be able to audibly thank us?

If everyone played with a doll there might be more of that empathy growing around us, rampant like dandelions in the height of spring, left to be plucked up and enjoyed by every passing person, gathered in bunches, worn in hair, handed in clumps to anyone we think might need it. If all little children had their own cloth companion to clutch, to whisper secrets to, to bring on adventures, we might invite the idea of companionship into our children's heads. It is a good thing to have a friend who listens to you and holds your words with silence and honor and trusts you to do the same.

If I could, I would be sure all children, girl or boy, felt no shame in wanting a doll. There is no right gender for a doll, nor is there no right age. There is not one doll that is better than another, whether it is the mama-made-with-love rag doll or the beautifully detailed store-bought doll. All dolls are just what they ought to be for whom they belong, just as we, those who love those dolls, are just as we ought to be for them.

Thankful

Our Thankful Jar, autumnal decor, and one of my favorite Thanksgiving books, a book of poems by Jack Perlutsky.

 My absolute favorite time of year is here! I live or the time between early November and New Year. The crisp air, the first snowflakes and then snow storms, Election Day (even when the results are less than desirable...), and all the fun family time, cozied up in our little house. All the very best things come during this time of year and I'm so pleased it's finally underway.

One of my favorite parts of November is our Thankful Jar tradition. I wrote a bit about this last year, but I wanted to re-share a bit this year and show you this year's word cloud. 

You see, what we've done each year since 2009 (!) is fill our lovely glass pumpkin jar with something we're thankful for each day. On Thanksgiving night my husband and I take turns reading what we all wrote. It's been especially fun this time because E. is able to write her notes herself, so while in years past I've known what she's thankful for each day, this year it'll be a surprise when we read our thankful notes aloud. 

This year I made our word cloud using Tagxedo from last year's notes. While I usually use all the previous years' notes I was very disappointed that I could not find the envelop I had put them all in! Hopefully in the massive house cleaning and organizing I have planned for after Christmas will churn them up - it would be awful to lose four years worth of notes!

The beauty of the word cloud is that it truly highlights what our family is most thankful for in a fun and creative (but totally easy) way. It also has worked really well in a classroom setting and provided kiddos with a great product to go home with to show their families (we did this in my special ed classroom a couple of years ago, to great success).

Of all our holiday traditions (and there seem to be more brewing each year), this one is my favorite. It's quiet and thoughtful, no treats or loud exclamations, but simply a moment or two out of each day to think outside of oneself and wonder at what has made that day particularly exceptional.

A Perfect Sunday

Every once in a while life hands us a perfect day. This is just a little glimpse of ours.

Breakfast at Melby's in Waterford, ME, waiting for the snow to fly.

Patiently awaiting his muffin. Food is the only thing that keeps this kid in his seat.

Happy, happy, happy!

Just a little bit of snow. We are waiting for more!

Pure joy and energy.

Watching the Pats cream Denver!