Midwest Princess: Christmas recap

I have a cold. Ugh. Cold's are the arch nemesis of the singer. Granted, it couldn't have come at a better time (no need to sing for over a week), but I have a somewhat lengthy adaptation-for-children of the Magic Flute to learn by next Saturday. I have learned some of it already, but I don't think it is anyplace near where it needs to be when I show up for rehearsal week next Saturday. It's exciting -- the first time I've ever been expected to show up knowing a role cold -- but also a little scary. Luckily the company supplied us with a very handy tutorial CD that is now on my brand new iPod nano (that's right!) and getting more plays than anything else, even that new Frou Frou album that is so good I feel like I'm dancing on rainbows when I'm listening to it.

Christmas was good this year, albeit way too short. Due to the Music of the Baroque Holiday Brass and Choral Concerts I was performing in all weekend (for which I just received the checks--let's just say the credit card is getting a huge payoff, so no complaints here), we didn't get to Fort Wayne until late Sunday night the 23rd, and then had to come back home Wednesday evening the 26th so Nick could be at work on the 27th. And I had to teach lessons at the music store in Palatine yesterday, so it wasn't a lengthy break for either of us. Nick is working this morning, but we both have Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday completely off, so that's going to be really nice. I guess this is the reality of being an adult -three days off at Christmas rather than three weeks. Perhaps I should look into a career in academia...

Nonetheless, Christmas was a wonderful time. It's certainly different than it used to be, but different in a wonderful way. When we were kids, it would be just the five of us at home on Christmas. We'd go to church on Christmas Eve (often times one of us would be singing), come home, open our Christmas Eve presents from Grandma Lyday (always pajamas), lay out cookies for Santa, hang up our stockings, and Dad would read us "Twas the Night Before Christmas". As we got older, none of this changed a bit. After my Grandpa Lyday's death, Grandma would sometimes come to spend the Eve/Day with us, and we loved having her there. As the years passed, and my sister and I found ourselves in significant relationships, things started to change. Last year I spent Christmas in Greece with Nick, who was grieving his father's death and taking care of family business. Although the circumstances were sad, we managed to have a nice Christmas together. This year we welcomed Elaine's new husband, Jerod, "officially" into the family (he's been around for many Christmases prior, but this was the first one where they were actually married). And this year we welcomed Nick to his first Lyday Christmas! It was a full house of people who love each other, and I think my sister and I both agree that we'd like to make it fuller sometime in the not so distant future. :)

And some traditions never die. Even though Elaine and Jerod were with his family on Christmas Eve, Dad still read us "Twas the Night Before Christmas". I think it will take my own progeny listening to the story to get me out of that tradition. If I never had any children, I'll bet I'd be a fifty year old woman sitting on the couch in my parents' house listening to my Dad do the voices.

And oh the presents. The giving and the getting. Christmas was always a big deal at our house, and it still is. We get spoiled. I think Nick was a little overwhelmed. But we got some very nice, very useful gifts. One of our favorites being the paper shredder. It is so therapeutic to feed junk mail though that thing. And I got the aforementioned iPod nano to replace the two year old iPod nano that I drowned accidentally in my bag a few weeks ago. The new model is SO much cooler, and you can watch videos on it, which is going to be very handy for my travels around Wisconsin during the tour. I also got a food processor, which I'm really looking forward to trying out this weekend. My mom's gift from us was the hit of the day though; an electric wine opener. It was magical.

Here are a few pics from the holiday. I hope you and yours had fantastic holidays and are looking forward to 2008. Soon to follow -- my wrap up and thoughts on 2007, a blogger tradition.

Love!