The last week at school has been… trying. My emotions could be summed up through the words of Sally Brown: “Anyway, why should I give thanks on Thanksgiving? What have I got to be thankful for? All it does is make more work for us at school.”
Oh holidays! How they add excitement and inevitably more work for all. My kindergartners have worked for weeks preparing for a Thanksgiving play, and my colleagues and I have worked for weeks getting costumes made. Well, I never really made a costume, but my assistant worked for weeks— almost months—making sure these kiddos would look perfect on stage.
All of this hard work created much added stress on everyone, finally peaking Wednesday afternoon at the last rehearsal. The kids were exhausted, the assistants were exhausted, I was exhausted-- stressed, fed up, frazzled, irritated, OVER IT! I began to question my career choice at this point as the students were losing focus and restlessness settled in among us all.
At home Wednesday evening, I forced myself to think of something thoughtful for my blog. I hoped reflecting on a reason to give thanks would help adjust my attitude toward this play and the days pending before the holidays. I remembered how eager another colleague had been to help us make our students’ costumes when we couldn’t quite figure out the pattern. To be perfectly honest, I had given up on the whole costume thing and would have been happy without our Native American paper bag vests, but another kindergarten assistant reached out in kindness to make them for us. I’m pretty sure she could sense my impending stroke from high blood pressure after dealing with these things.
The program went on without any major glitches, except for my student who had to dramatically exit the stage to take a potty break in the middle of the performance. Comic relief for the audience, I suppose. And on Friday, my class celebrated with a Thanksgiving feast. Nearly thirty parents and grandparents filled our classroom to celebrate and share with us. Yes, this did cause more work for me and for my sweet assistant (and my amazingly kind husband who carved the turkey and ham at 9:00 Thursday night), but it was so worthwhile to see the smiles on everyone’s faces.
Thanksgiving is always my favorite holiday for many reasons. First, I get to entertain family and friends with tons of good food, but I don’t have to buys presents for anybody. Second, it officially kicks off the Christmas season: beautiful lights, Christmas carols, family photo cards, cocktail parties, trees, Advent candles, shopping sprees, etc. Yes, this time of year does make more work for us at school and at home. Despite the work, most of us are at our best during the weeks building up to Christmas; we are hopeful, giving, kind, smiling, singing, sharing.
As Thanksgiving Day approaches, and soon thereafter Christmas, I am reminding myself that yes, it is hard work to clean, decorate, and prepare a meal for our families. But in the end, “Thanksgiving is more than eating, Chuck. … We should be thankful, too. We should just be thankful for being together. I think that's what they mean by 'Thanksgiving,' Charlie Brown.”
