a tardy arrival

my first memory of tardiness is from 1st grade.   i have few clear memories from childhood, but i will never forget that sad & disappointed look on miss moose's face, hands on her hips, as i arrived late to first grade.   "i'm so sorry, michelle, but this is your third tardy, and you'll have to go to mr. moore's office."   the look on her face told me that this message truly hurt her more than it would hurt me, even though i was in for a spanking (this was the eighties...).

somehow, the spanking didn't encourage me to change my ways, though.  i was still being scolded in college for tardiness, and even after college, working in peru, in a country that as a rule runs about an hour and a half behind schedule.   i, the only gringa, was often the last to arrive to work, & received lectures from my peruvian boss on the virtue of timeliness.

so it should come as no surprise that i am several days late in completing our family advent (literally: "arrival") calendar--and a calendar of all things!  couldn't i be on time? we're four days into december, and i just finished making our calendar.  (i thought i could make it in an evening, but alas!)  i've still been planning activities for heron, though, but today is the first day she'll get to pick an advent activity out of the little calendar pocket.

we've been reading the christmas story, and talking about the reason our family celebrates christmas.  this is our countdown to Jesus' birthday, and even though we will do lots of seasonal + cultural activities throughout the month in preparation + celebration, we are trying to share with heron that this month is all about Jesus.  it's been fun to share the story with her this year, & to begin our new family traditions, too, as she's just getting to be old enough to understand.