Season's musings

The Christmas spirit is in - shops selling christmas-New Year cards (though these days one mostly sends e-cards, even a friend who has been sending me Xmas and Birthday cards for over 15 years has finally decided to take the e-plunge) , Christmas CDs being played in shops like Landmark here, mannequins donning red and white costumes, Xmas trees and decorations for sale etc etc. Though in Chennai, Christmas is a bit low-key unlike in Kerala where we breathe Christmas for the whole of this month.

A carol service in Ash's school brought in the Christmassy cheer to me yesterday. I went partly because I wanted to meet his teacher - who had told the van driver that we dont send Ash to school until he is fine - and partly because I wanted to hear some Christmas carols in my son's school. Somehow, I feel very emotionally close to the school thanks to Ash's teacher who has been very kind to him.

I had sent him to school on Tuesday and it had been a disaster - the teacher told me later that the boy was miserable and wanted to remove his clothes and scratch himself. When I got him ready for school yesterday, the van driver and the ayah dissuaded me from sending him. As for Ash, he has become very lazy and refuses to go to school after the two-month hiatus.

Well, I got to hear only 3-4 songs and the closing prayer as I reached an hour into the programme. I managed to trace Ash's teacher in the car parking lot. She told me that I let the poor child recover fully and that it was fine if he came back to school in January after the Christmas vacation. She said he was very good at his classwork, so I neednt have any worries. Just make him practise the alphabets and numbers (1-10) at home, she told me giving me a sympathetic pat on the arm. I admired her bead chain and walked away. She always wears lovely chains and necklaces.

* UCA school has put up a notice regarding LKG admissions for the next academic year. The forms can be collected on Dec 11th and 12th and submitted before 19th when the school closes for Xmas vacation. A copy of the birth certificate, self-addressed envelope and community certificate for those who are eligible for seat reservation (SC/ST/OBC) are to be submitted too. We need to collect a form for Mira this year. If she makes it, I hope she gets Ash's class teacher or Reji, the friendly lady from our church who teaches in another LKG division this year. Already, the teacher and the ayahs are enquiring about her whenever I meet them :)

** Mira's school is celebrating Christmas along with the WCC college girls on the 8th. The kids are expected to bring a "white" gift - wrapped in white paper - for the less privileged. The suggested gifts include coloring pencils, coloring books, notebooks, soap dishes, water bottles, story books etc, but no used stuff or eatables. I bought a few coloring books, storybooks and crayons from Landmark for that today.

However, I need to see if we can give it in tomorrow since Mira might not be attending school on Monday. Her aunt, V's only sister, is arriving here from Australia on 8th on her way to Kerala. The kids will stay put at home to spend time with their big brothers aged 13 and 9.