December snowflakes aren’t ripe yet

It's our first full December in New York! This feels momentous. I am enjoying the way we're incorporating our old, family traditions while adding new flavors and experiences that are specific to Rochester. The last night of Dinovember included a five-year tradition: The Dino Nativity!


On the first weekend of December, I took the kids to the RH Singers Pancake Breakfast fundraiser, because I obviously have to start grooming my kids for the RH music program ASAP! After a very small and disorganized breakfast, I took the kids for a stroll around my old high school. I haven't been inside in years, and I haven't been upstairs in that building since I graduated. It was like being able to visit a childhood home (none of which I have access to, so this is an equivalent). I loved it.

Same old Henrietta mural in the cafeteria

The kids with Comet, the mascot.

Santa was in attendance! 

Hall that contains my locker, looking into the A-Wing upstairs. I also peered into the Chem Lab and was temporarily dragged back in time. 

Very appropriate student-made mural upstairs at RH. 

Until recently, there has been near constant snowfall. We're in a rather sad rainy thaw, but I'm hoping and expecting to see flakes again soon. The luxury of being back in NY is that we don't have to make a huge fuss about every snow. Snow is a fact of life here, so we don't have to race outside and attempt to sled in 2 inches of snow, because there will always be more. I can exhale.

Made the greens at church! We probably wouldn't have managed on our own, so I'm grateful for the organizers of the craft event. I'm grateful for St. Thomas' in general, actually. 

On the second Sunday of Advent, we got our tree from Gro-Moore! As is appropriate. My dad was so kind as to come with us to take our family photos! We got some great shots. Maybe one of these days we'll actually get around to making the card and sending them out. Don't hold your breath though, guys.

Christmas trees are a whole lot cheaper when you buy them in a place they actually grow! That and apple cider might be the only things that are cheaper in New York.

As we prepare for our first Christmas and our first winter as New Yorkers, I've come upon an unexpected blessing: I get to ice skate for free at work! There's a lunchtime skate every day that's free for RIT employees. I've gone twice now and plan to go again today. It costs to rent skates, but only $3. This is so worth it for me, as it gives me the exercise and good vibes I need at a job that involves a lot of sitting around.


We added another treat to this year's holiday roster: A Christmas Carol at Geva! I have extremely happy memories of seeing this as a child and as a teen, so I was thrilled to finally share it with my kids. I've been reading them the book for a couple of Decembers running now, so they were in a perfect state of readiness for the stage production.

Both kids' enjoyment was intense. They laughed at Scrooge's caperings, they cowered from Marley's Ghost, they shivered at the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come, and they clapped along with the dancing at Fezziwig's. They stood up at the end and clapped with so much fervor I thought it must hurt their hands. It's so lovely when you have high hopes for something, and then the experience of it exceeds them.

This past weekend we had a novel experience: Tuba Christmas at the Eastman Theater. Of course, we'd experienced Tuba Christmas before in Blacksburg, but that was about 30 tubas at the farmer's market, not 200+ in the gorgeous Eastman. The kids loved it; Miles was especially attentive, as he's taking French Horn this year and is very keen to improve.


And last night we got our blessing. We finally attended Beer and Carols, an event hosted by Matthew and Leah's church. I've watched it go by, year after year, and always wished to be there for it. It was a supreme satisfaction to be there in a booth in the flesh, have my carol book, and waste the last of my singing voice (I've got a mean cold) singing all the verses of "Good King Wenceslaus" and of "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch" and of "Lo How a Rose" and "Here We Come A-Wassailing" and a million more. The kids stayed for an hour, and they sang energetically. Adele walked around with cousin Abby, proud in her new Christmas heeled shoes.

I saw old friends, and sang Christmas carols until I was hoarse, and basically soaked up all my favorite vibes. We're making a new life and a new home in my old home, surrounded by elements of my old life. I am content.