A Different Christmas

Christmas was definitely different this year. There were no songs, no lights, no snow, no (good) hot chocolate, no finals to cram and die for, no cuddling, no flying back home, and no freezing nights in our Arlington home (we were too cheap to turn on the heat for the 3 floors).

But I made do. I sorted through share allotment legal docs while listening to as many cheesy Christmas songs from China Google music player as possible. I made a repentant attempt to buy the whole fam as many presents as possible the day before Christmas. And I stepped up the Santa Surprise Initiatives (code name SSI), leaving pranks and genuine goodies under the tree.

But the human urge to confess was very strong. Even though I threatened my little brother Cody with tickle torture if he told, I couldn't keep it in so I blogged about my Santa gifts, thinking that everybody was already in bed.

When I walked up the stairs to bed after wrapping all the presents, Casey looked at me and said, "So, coal huh?" He smirked. He had read my blog post in the five minutes that it took me to turn off my computer and the lights.

Also, on Christmas morning, my dad had apparently figured out how to get on my blog so he and my mom caught up on several months of my posts. Of course, that way, they also knew that Santa was really me . . .  so they didn't even bother to open the Krispy Kreme box when they unwrapped it, thinking it was going to be filled with really light rocks. (Ha! They were really doughnuts).

But Christmas also had meaning this year because I had opportunities to share what I believed. Last week, I arranged a mini Christmas party for my China Construction Bank English students, complete with (bitter) hot chocolate, white elephant gift exchange, cakes, and a mini presentation on the American Christmas traditions. When I asked if they knew about the origins of Christmas, somebody yelled out "Jesus Christ's birthday." I talked briefly about Christ's divinity, his humble origins, and the reason why he had to come down to earth -- all within the context of general Christian beliefs. Even though I repeatedly said "They believe . . ., " it was really what I believed and what I knew to be true. And it felt so good to be able to finally share my testimony in an acceptable environment and adhere to the "no proselyting to Chinese Nationals" directives from the government and our Church leaders. Who knew that cultural classes can be a pretext for bite size missionary discussions?

 They wanted me to wear the reindeer headband during my Christmas lesson.

Ghosts of Christmas Past

Many Christmases ago, Casey grabbed his hard-earned car washing/ soccer coaching money and went to Kennedy Town. Alone. Even though us older girls were constantly having these unintelligible conversations with dramatic "Guess what happened?" "Oh my goodness," and "Uh huh," which left him completely confused, he decided that he wanted to surprise his older sisters with something extra special under the tree.

That year, like most years, we woke up early and dashed to the tree to divvy up the presents. Chelsea and I both opened Casey's present at the same time. He stopped his unwrapping and just watched us with the biggest grin on his face.

Wow. It was a fur ball masquerading as a lady's purse. It looked alive. And it seemed like something that a storekeeper could convince a little boy to hand over quite a bit of money for.

We did our sisterly duty and got ourselves super excited. We posed with the creatures slung across our chests. We gushed about them to Casey and messed up his hair affectionately.

Then we ran to our rooms and laughed about it. Casey was the cutest. But these little purses needed to be hid. Fast. So we buried them underneath our old stockings and pajama dresses and forgot all about them.

Another year went by. Christmas rolled around again.

Chelsea and I found ourselves opening another big surprise from Casey.

This time, it was a fur ball hat.

You know, to go with our favorite purses.

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It's officially Christmas over here! I just got done wrapping the presents for the kids. They're all in bed already. I'm also temping as Santa this year. Let's just say that I'm delivering the goodies and the coal. Got to teach kids about taking consequences right?

Graduation Karma

As I stood in line at the Honors graduation banquet, I snickered at the thought of somebody tripping at the makeshift stairs. It just seemed like a movie-like moment that every graduation should have. My vote was for the girl with the ankle-length maxi dress.

She sailed right through.

And then it was my turn.

I walked confidently up the steps in my nude Nine West pumps. 

All of a sudden, my right foot felt cold. And it hit further down than it should.

I was momentarily confused. Shauna, the lady reading out the names of the graduate, gasped, "her shoe!"

I looked back. My right shoe was caught and I had left it behind.

After edging back down the steps and putting it back on, I smiled as big as I could and walked back up again as if nothing had happened.

The Honors program director squeezed my hand and whispered, "Congratulations, Cinderella."

I could have died.

--

Afterward, Casey proudly showed me the camera in his hand. He had videoed the entire thing.

Better yet, news reached my parents fast, and my mom left a voice mail saying, "We are so proud of you, Cinderella-graduator."


My feelings about karma has not changed.

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On a separate graduation note, remember how I wondered about the whole throwing-your-cap myth?

Well, it actually happened.

Except, when the photographer told us to remove our caps and throw it up in the air, I had to frantically take out all the bobby pins securing my cap to my hair.

And I missed it.

So, I did my own.

From the Mouths of RMs

Casey texted me today and asked if I wanted to go clubbing at Club T tomorrow.

He meant the temple.

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A few more sentences from my RM Chinese class:

He is a good person; after all, he is an American.

She is very beautiful, plus she has a car -- I want to date her.

Husbands should be considerate of their wives. At the same time, the wives should not repeatedly ask husbands to be more considerate.

The reason why I am taking Chinese is because I want to be able to talk to my Chinese girlfriend.

A Voicemail

I just left a voice mail for a random boy in my class telling him to come over for dinner tonight.

And to go to a concert with me.

All in the glorious name of "more bonding time".

Even finished it up with a "love ya!"

I thought I was talking to my brother.

Missing home

I don't miss home until I get home. Then I realize how much I've been missing it all along.

Even better this time, Casey is home as well!