As many of you may know, this year is my first "real" Christmas. My family did not celebrate Christmas growing up. Now that Andrew and I are married, we are trying to figure things out as "Team F" instead of "Mary Rachel Hicks" and "Andrew Fenrick", which is actually quite a lot to consider around the holidays. It has been a bit of a challenge to stick to simple gifts when America tends to be a little extravagant during this time of year. I actually love giving people gifts- I have a lot more fun shopping for other people than I do shopping for myself. Our goal is to always just keep Christmas simple, especially when we have kids, because I think that among all of the shopping, decorating, baking, and gift-giving, people forget that Christmas is really a reminder of the Savior that we have in Christ.
I graduated on Saturday. The whole ceremony only took about 45 minutes! My family came up for the weekend, and Andrew's family came down for the day. It was a great celebration of a lot of hard work. Afterward, we went out to dinner at Shogun Steakhouse (a Japanese steakhouse). I have not had any real responsibilities for the past few days because I have no classes, and the Norman schools are closed for Christmas break (so I can't substitute teach). This is VERY unusual for me, but I am enjoying it. Looking back on the past few years, even in high school, I probably should have let my grades go sometimes. A 4.0 is nice, but it was probably not worth some of the relationships on which I missed out and the frustrations that I incurred because of a stupid homework assignment or test. People told me this all along, but I never really saw their point until now, when it's all over.
My last week of subbing kindergarten was a nightmare. In fact, the week basically went downhill from Monday. The kindergarteners had their Christmas party on WEDNESDAY morning from 9-11 a.m.?! I'm sorry, but seriously, what were the people thinking when that was planned? Apparently, they weren't thinking at all because of course, the little ones were high on sugar for the rest of the day, and they shut down and did not want to do anything on Thursday or Friday (and I can't say that I blame them). Needless to say, I am glad it is over. I definitely earned every penny of my paycheck over the past two weeks. Some of the kids did bring me cookies and cards, which was nice. One thing that I found to be more than a little concerning over the past two weeks is the fact that I do not think the kindergarteners learned a single thing the entire time I was there. They did arts and crafts or played with blocks and legos the entire day. I remember reading in kindergarten, counting, and learning my colors. They did not do ANY of this. I thought that maybe this was because I was a sub, but in talking to some of the first grade teachers, the circumstances are the same in both of the kindergarten classes all the time. Only one of the girls can really read, and quite a few of the kids cannot count past 14-15. The sad thing is, I have a lot of respect for this particular school as a whole; I just think that maybe kindergarten is becoming a joke.
Andrew has been working A LOT lately. This time of year is by far the busiest at work, so he has been working at least ten-hour days, if not more. (He even has to work Christmas Eve!) Most likely, this will continue through January. He has really been a trooper about it, but I can tell that it wears him out, especially with a 45-minute commute each way. Paycom is a great company and does some special things to make this time of year bearable. On Friday, the company (and their spouses) got to go to a Thunder basketball game for free and sit in the Terrace Seating, which has all kinds of free food and a great view. I know that the company has brought in free lunch a few times, too. At the beginning of February, we get to go to a year-end party at the Gaylord Texan in Grapevine. Apparently this is a pretty big deal. We get to stay the night there for free, and it sounds like the company really puts a lot of work into making the party enjoyable. So, at least he has some things to anticipate in the future.
That's about all from the Fenrick house. "Merry Christmas to all, and to all, a good night!"
In Christ alone,
Mary Rachel
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