scott's ravings: Pre-Christmas Happenings

This is a busy, busy time of year! There is so much going on, and so much still to do. My folks arrive on Wednesday, and God willing, without delay. That evening, we will have the Family Christmas Eve Mass at five o'clock, and then a wonderful Christmas Eve dinner, probably lamb stew of some sort. My mother adores lamb!

Last night, we took the boys to see the Loudoun Ballet production of The Nutcracker. I was so amazed! I have been to lots of local community theatre, and though it is always inexpensive and entertaining, it was also amateurish. Not so last night!

The sets, the costumes, and the dancers were all incredible! There were over 200 performers on stage last night, performing a full version of Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker--no songs omitted. It really was an enchanting show, and the boys enjoyed it much more than I thought they would.

After the performance, Eddie wanted to meet some of the dancers on stage, but he was very shy. He put on his coat, put his hood up, and fastened his hood so tightly that he looked like he was wearing a burqa--you could only see his eyes. However, evil father that I am, I made him remove his hood, so the dancers could see his face.

We visited with the Snow Queen, Clara, the Sugar Plum Fairy, Dew Drop, Harlequin, the Coffee Prince, Candy Cane, and with the Nutcracker himself. Eddie thought the performers were all very nice, and he was very pleased to get a few autographs.

Most of these girls are high school girls, but I'm sure to Eddie they seem very old. To me, they seemed like babies!

Today, the boys performed in their church Christmas pageant. Eddie and Luke reprised their roles as Simeon and Isaac, two of the shepherds. This year, the boys were much more comfortable with their roles, and they really hammed it up! They did a super job and got lots of compliments from all of the congregation.