Lazy Afternoons
Monday, December 4, 2006
Ah… another Monday. Collette found herself experiencing three distinct roles throughout the week – school teacher on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays, church secretary on Thursdays, Fridays, and Sundays, and some sort of odd supervisor/assistant chauffeur (usually on Fridays and Saturdays when activities were planned). It was an interesting line-up.
Collette had been reminded earlier of the Christmas programs at Kirk those good number of years ago. First grade through fifth grade she had waited in the back of the church with all of the other children while the sanctuary packed itself with all the parents and grandparents. It was a nerving experience waiting for so long to finally file in with all the other little girls and boys in fancy Christmas dresses or ties and collared sheets and slicked back hair – right into the chairs where the choir sat at the front of the church.
But it was the sixth graders who were always the ones who reenacted the Christmas play in front of the other children and the audience. Collette had always assumed for those years that she would end up being an angel with several of the other girls in her class. But one evening she received a call from the children’s music director to see if she would be a narrator. While a rather frightening prospect, she accepted the invitation and found herself with two other boys at the rehearsal, where she was the final narrator of the three – when the wise men came to visit baby Jesus. She had never spoken so many words (or any words for that matter) in front of so many people before. But the whole thing went off as it did every other year, and it was a good Christmas program. Everyone seemed to cooperate. Even Joseph, who preferred to sit sprawled back in his chair during the entire program, did his part as only could be expected from an eleven year-old boy.
Rose’s studies began that day with Rose suffering from a bad cold. She met Collette in the living room with her books in bright lime green pants and lemon yellow sweatshirt, sniffing. She had also drug out a cold water bottle from the garage and a bag of hard candies left over from the gingerbread house decorating. Mom finally found her out and confiscated the bag before she could do further damage by adding a sugar high to her cold.
Meanwhile, after Rose had left for class, Collette took a good hot shower to remedy the lack of hot water back at the apartment. With three weeks to go, Carrie-Bri brought Rose to Plato’s Closet after her class to purchase some clothing for Egypt where the weather would be slightly warmer. Mom also researched typhoid and Hepatitis A shots for both girls.
And Linnea finished math in the kitchen where she had been distracted by making a ball of little black rubber bands. Joe arrived home early from work, as business was slow that morning. Frances left later in the evening for basketball practice. And Rose was called on by the Plums to babysit.
“Now I have to tell another worm story,” Rose said, more to herself, as she walked out the front door.
Gretyl apparently begged for Rose to make up stories about worms every time she babysat, which was on a regular basis. And there were only so many things a worm could do.
After OLeif had picked up Collette from the rather lazy day, they dropped off Wally’s car back at the Silverspoon’s, where Denae prepared them some dinner and the boys played some music while Theodore taught at the university.