The Last Thing I Need to Be Doing Right Now...

I was reading before falling asleep last night. (It is LOVELY to be able to do that, but now I have my schedule all nice and ruined before heading back to school.) I started thinking about the past year because that is what one is supposed to do on New Year's Eve Eve, I guess. I tried to think about the best moments, those that stand out to me out of the 525,600 (start singing it, please) moments that I have lived this year. That is actually kinda hard to do. Maybe it's just me, but I feel like I shaft the little spots of gold that were too unplanned for a camera. I wracked my brain, and most of the unexpected gems have surely faded away. However, this year has been ... fast. Too fast. When you live at a pace that tries to fill the day with constant responsibilities, time moves so quickly. Maybe I feel like I am constantly chasing it rather than relishing it. Will I always feel like that?

I digress.

So, (my favorite transition) I went to sleep, hit snooze for two hours this morning, and started thinking about listing the best of 2010. I like lists. In some ways, it makes me sad because my life away from school seems pretty bleak according to this list. In some ways, I can't help but be thankful again today for having a job that provides so many blessings. This list is in no particular order. The New Orleans trip, if given an option, would dominate a Top Ten Moments list. It was, hands down, the highlight of my year. I continue to think about it often, and I am thankful that I am permitted to plan countless reunions. So, I tried to limit New Orleans' moments on the list, but you will still see a lot. :)

Here's to you, 2010. (Oh my, this got really long. Surprise.)

1. "What haste looks through his eyes. So should he look that seems to speak things strange." (I did that from memory, boys!) Macbeth is not my favorite play, but being in a play with students and colleagues and an awesome directorial duo was really special to me. (And I loved eating chicken around that fire.)

2. CWC jr. If I have to pick a moment, which I guess I didn't do with Macbeth, it would be the first time Ian read to everyone or open mic night. Yes, open mic night it is. I was so tired. It was the night of the walk-a-thon. The day before had been the frisbee tournament. Parents would be there. The kids were INCREDIBLE, playing the crowd like trained comedians. I sat and ate my delicious chicken salad sandwich and cookies and watched and learned.

Oh geesh. I am doing that thing where I write a paragraph...I need to stop.

3. Sheehanigans TOOK OFF. This also caused a lot of stress and terrible back problems, but it has truly been a blessing for me and something to look forward to in the future.

4. Spending most Friday nights with my mom. We have grown so close, and there is so much comfort in going to her house each Friday night, putting on my PJs, sitting in the recliner and watching television. (And falling asleep at 9:32.)

5. Watching Nick when he spotted Kaitlyn for the first time at Morris Fork when she came to visit. That hug was so genuine. It was so beautiful.


6. So, the entire Academic Banquet was wonderful. But maybe a highlight would have to be when Alex told everyone that I was his Lady Gaga, well, his and many others'.

7. Have you ever seen Jeff Gutzwiller dance? Line dance? H-I-G-H-L-I-G-H-T.

8. It takes a long time to finish the literary magazine, even when you think it is almost finished. When that moment comes, add six hours of work to what you think will be one. However, in the midst of that, you have these ridiculous bouts of crazy. Thus, I present you with moment #8: the Doodle paragraph in the back of Chicken Pox. I think Aamena cried from laughing. (We know it's not that funny.)

9. Have you ever heard Daniel Schoch sing? What about sing to songs like "Push It"? Hmmm...our van heard that on the way home from New Orleans. It was priceless.

10. I always love Mini-O, but 2010 was something incredible. My top moment? Either seeing Funiture completely assembled or walking back to my classroom as all-out chaos was booming in by the main stairwell. I. Loved. It.

11. I tried to be like Jay Newlin last summer. I tried to host my own Backyard Games. It might not have been quite as successful as his, but watching my incredible colleagues play the Oreo game was something to be remembered. (Sidenote: Being a 3-peat champion at Jay's backyard games was also pretty incredible.)

Oops. Font change.

12.The past two Homecomings have been spectacular. But my highlight of Homecoming 2010 has to be the passing periods on Thursday (reflecting a bigger moment). When classrooms would empty, it was this crazy rainbow filling up the hallways. I believe the number was 1586, give or take a few. That is how many students participated on the class competition dress-up day. And thus, tradition is being born.

13. When we decided to do the Minute to Win It challenge, I didn’t want to throw up numbers. I never do. I didn’t want to give people a false expectation of what success would be. But you have to give a goal. You have to make it real. I don’t actually know how many students and staff members we have. I estimated at 2500. When Zoe read that we raised over $3,000, well, I screamed and danced, and I could spend quite a bit of time explaining why, but I will save that for another post.

14.Going along with that, let’s talk about the last day of the semester. Hunter and I (as per usual) still had a lot of papers to grade. I was supposed to leave at 3pm. That didn’t happen. I also realized that it would be possible for us to raise $20,000. The day before, when we were a little over $18,000, I was content. I was finished…again. And then generous people donated online. And boom, that day changed. All of a sudden, we had this unbelievable, never-would-have-dreamed-it goal in sight. And I will never know all the people who chipped in at the end. You see, we didn’t work for that last $1500. We were given a gift by teachers and community members and students and parents and alumni. Maybe even strangers. And, as the night wore on, and Hunter and I got crazier and crazier, the total rolled over $20,000. Incredible.

15. My niece and nephews are awesome. I love them all, but one highlight of this past year was getting to know Casey, my niece, a little better. She is fiery and loving, and I can’t wait to see who she becomes. She rocks stripes and polka dots like nobody’s business as well.

16. Another highlight has to do with the fact that my family will be going to Europe together this summer. I know it hasn’t happened yet, but the decision was made in 2010. It is a huge investment, and it stresses me out, but I know it will be simply wonderful.

17. I have a lot of great memories with Aubry and Carly (we spend a lot of time together), but I REALLY loved the night we did the "It Happened One Saturday Night" story. Read and see it here: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=199517&id=503268952 (I wonder if that link will work.)

18. Oops, I tried to spread out the New Orleans moments, and now I am getting near the end and have a few left. The lying game. If you were there, you understand. "She was acting up."

19. The dedication. That was SO SPECIAL for me. I hope for everyone. But I didn't really want it to be about us.

20. CWC: Senior Year was a part of Chicken Pox that is priceless to me. I hope it wasn't completely self-serving. But I don't really think that many people would or could realize how special those words were (and will always be) to me.

21. There were a few moments from Halloween that I loved, but strangely, this might be my favorite.

22. Hearing Richard (and Jimmy) speak to us during the Face-to-Face tour was priceless. His words will continue to resonate in my heart for a LONG time to come. Hopefully, his words will be heard again in Uganda this summer or maybe in San Diego.

23. I think this will be the last one. I will come back with more, I am sure. (And no one will read them but me, and that's okay.) We did some "unpleasant" jobs on the work site in New Orleans. I am not sure if anything in the sun could be pleasant in late July in New Orleans, but there were just a few jobs that caused a tremendous amount of frustration. But, strangely enough, these jobs also caused so much pride. The teams that worked on them wore their badge of honor. They united and laughed behind the frustration. People screamed and possibly wanted to throw hammers, but still, they kept going. Pounding aluminum nails into the house was miserable. MISERABLE. I swear Kacie and Elly almost cried. I don't know how Alex and Corey did it for SO LONG. I just didn't understand. And then we got a new box. These were steel. (Or something way stronger than aluminum if I am wrong.) And HIT. HIT. HIT. DONE. HIT. HIT. HIT. DONE. Sometimes, maybe more than we acknowledge, the little victories taste the sweetest. High on those ladders, sweating buckets, feeling like a failure in every way possible, I was handed the greatest gift of my year: nails. It was (and still is) bigger than the nails, but like I said, maybe another time.

Go ahead and re-live your moments. It takes a bit of the blur away from time. You get some back.

Happy New Year.

Not a Finga!

There is something special about this time of year, don't you think? There are all sorts of brushes to paint December with, but regardless of how far away I get from the magic of childhood, it seems that nostalgia attached to Christmas movies cannot be thwarted.

And so I present to you a complete waste of my precious grading time, otherwise known as:

Jacqui's Top 24 Christmas Movies...
I will save Christmas Day for you and your families, okay?
(I could have put twenty-five, but I felt like I was putting movies on there that don't deserve it just to fill the spots...I took this kinda seriously...)

I understand that this list will create violent reactions (from the three people who read it) because I failed to mention The Nightmare Before Christmas (I've never seen it!) or because Christmas Vacation is so low (I care about the others so much more...). You won't like that The Holiday is on there, I know. I understand that my undying love for certain movies is not because they are well-made or dazzling or funny; I just know that at some point in my life, these have become cherished gems that I look forward to seeing. There are some that I WILL NOT miss seeing each year and some that have since faded away, but maybe this year, I will bake some cookies, boil some water for hot chocolate, and take a trip down Holiday Lane. And if there is a movie (save the the bottom few) that you haven't seen, please do the same, will you?

24. Polar Express--I did not like this movie. I LOVE this book. Since graduating from college, it is one of my greatest joys to read this book to my friends while drinking hot chocolate and sitting around my newly decorated Christmas tree. Seriously. It only made it on the list because of the book; the movie was a grave disappointment.


23. The Christmas Shoes--Okay. It was in a moment of emotional delusion that I watched this movie in Morris Fork. Yeah. I cried. It was so sappy sweet, but it was so sappy sweet...do you get me?


22. Very Brady Christmas--You know you got a little nervous when Mike got caught in that building. YOU KNOW IT.

21. Claymation Christmas--This might be higher on the list, but I haven't seen it since elementary school. Where has it gone?


20. Twas the Night Before Christmas--Same with this one...I am pretty sure I loved it though.


19. Holiday Inn--I didn't see it until last year. It can't be any higher, you know? (I will blow that theory with White Christmas, but whatever.)


18. Mickey's Christmas Carol--At this point, I started shaving away parts of my heart because I pretty much love every movie on this list from now on...


17. A Very Merry Cricket--No one understands why I love this so much. When that little cricket quiets Times Square with his beautiful wing music...geesh, I swoon.



16. The Holiday--What can I say? I am a sucker for Jack Black in a romantic comedy. "Well, hello, big dollop."



15. The Family Stone--I LOVE this movie. I hesitated putting it on the list, but it is a beautiful (and hilarious) story about family. Around Christmas.


14. Frosty the Snowman--Well, "Happy Birthday!"


13. The Grinch--Yes, the cartoon is better than the real re-make. No questions asked.


12. The Santa Clause--Why did they have to make more? The first one was actually pretty great. Don't laugh at me.


11. White Christmas--I just saw it two years ago. I love it. I wish I had a lifetime of watching it to make it mean even more.


10. It's a Wonderful Life--The purists will say this deserves a higher seed. I went with my OWN ideas, okay?


9. Miracle on 34th Street--I love the original. I love the remake. (When does that even happen?)


8. Christmas Vacation--Amazingly quotable? Yes. Hilarious? Yes. A part of our shared culture? Yes. Kills me because of the destruction of the house every time? Yes...like, it hurts me to watch it.


7. Rudolph--Rudolph's voice alone says "It's Christmas." Picture him saying it: "I'm coming, Santa!"


6. Home Alone--This is the only movie I ever saw with my entire family in the theater. My sister packed microwave popcorn bags (pre-popped) into her over-sized coat. My dad cried because he laughed so hard.


5. Elf--Sarah Lantz stood up and clapped when this movie ended. I joined her. Talk about an instant classic. That is very hard to do.



4. Garfield's Christmas--I don't care what you think, I simply adore it. ADORE IT.


3. Charlie Brown's Christmas--One of my students told me today that her family watches this every year, and she hates it. A little part of me died inside. Linus' speech about the "Babe in the manger" brings it all together. "Lights, please."


2. This was so difficult...but I decided that Muppet's Christmas Carol lands here. Words cannot express how much I love this movie. It is magical in every way...except for the Ghost of Christmas Past; she is terrifying.


1. A Christmas Story--It wasn't going to be here at first, but I had to think about how many memories and joyful events revolve around this movie. I have watched it with family and friends so many times, and only in my older years did I learn to value the magnificent voice of the narration (not just his voice...the words) and the real magic it holds right beneath so much hilarity.



And there you have it, folks. What do you think? Let me know!
PS. I dare you to try it. A top ten was so painful.