Saturday we had the first of our open houses. I had baked a lot of cookies (about 40 dozen), plus cake, cheesecake and I had snack foods here too. On Saturday we invited the people who attend Andy's church, who were our first contacts here in Lexington, even before we moved. Since it was Andy's church people Andy, Hannah and Sam came too. One other lady came. We had a good visit and ate way too many cookies.
While Sam was here he would toddle to the kitchen, point to my portable CD player and say, "Cows." That is the first cut and the first word of the first cut on my Sandra Boynton CD. It is a very silly song (silly being good). It's low voiced singers who intone, "Cows, we're remarkable cows. And wherever we go it's a fabulous show, oh you know we are cows. Such remarkable cows, We can sing very low, we can dance in a row, we are lovely and slow. Oh you know we are cows."
What is funny (at least to us) is that Sam says "Cows" with the same vocal inflection of the CD. He says it low and on pitch. He loves that song. Then we dance around the kitchen.
After playing the song twice Andy and Hannah requested that we turn it off. At 5:00 Andy had to go to work. Mrs. Martin left.. Hannah had to go to the mall. Is that any place for a little guy? Nope. I volunteered to keep him here. Then we played "Cows" some more.
On Sunday at 1:00 we had the second of our open houses. Paul had gone around to our neighborhood, meeting everyone and inviting them. We expected about 15 people, but altogether we had 42 people here!!!! . Everyone had a great time. People were saying that we ought to do this more often. I only wish I would have had more time to listen to everyone’s story – but we intend to be here a while so that can wait.
This is a great neighborhood and I think people were glad to meet each other. We still had too many cookies and we ran out of punch, but it was a lot of fun. A few kids came but mostly it was people who, when they talked to us, told about their great-grandchildren. We met some wonderful people, all living on our street or one block over. (Now I will REALLY always carry my plastic poop disposal bag when Abby and I walk. I don't want to befoul a yard of people that we know.)
The party ended at 3:30, but we saw the last of them at 4:10. Then we had been invited to Andy's church (other side of town) to their Lessons and Carols service, which started at 4:00. The big draw was that Sam would be in a lamb costume on stage.
Paul had talked to both Father Peter (A's minister) and Andy/Hannah, telling them that we would be late. Their church meets in the original sanctuary of a bigger church. It's a little awkward because you enter at the front, in full view of everyone who's worshiping. We crept (in my imagination. To the people assembled it probably looked like we strolled) in.
Sam was in the front row and caught sight of us. He pointed at Paul and said, "Pau Pau! Pau Pau!" He was so tickled. Then he saw me and said -- now let me tell you that I have imagined his little voice saying my name and calling me any number of things, though I kind of decided that I would be Grammy. I thought he might call me "Gramma Book", "Gramma Doggy" "Gramma Cookie" (all of which would have been accurate.) But instead his face lit up, he pointed at me, bounced a little, and said, "Cows. Cows."
We sang. We heard scripture. It's a small congregation and a woman sang "O Come O Come Emmanuel" a cappella, with an increasingly broad vibrato. Did you know that there are about 14 verses of that song? I wonder if she was making some of them up. Sam kept squirming of of Hannah's lap and trying to walk up the ramp out of the church.
Finally it was time for the children's portion of the program. The kids 4 years old and under sang "Away in a Manger" as only a small congregation can. One bony little four year old squeezed herself into a doll bed, pulled a blanket up to her chin and stuck a pacifier in her mouth. Two little girls, clearly recycling Halloween costumes were fairy/angels and twirled and jumped.
One little guy banged a drum before the singing began, but once people started snapping photos he was transfixed and just stared. There was one little boy about Sam's age who was a mouse. Caleb barely fit into his mouse costume -- he kept laughing.
And Sam. His costume had the other problem. It swallowed him up so that he looked like he needed a shearing. He would perch at the edge of the manger scene until he decided that the whole thing was a game and the goal was escape. Then he'd crawl away, only to have Andy catch him and put him back in place. It made Sam laugh and laugh. One little girl (the pastor's daughter) sang a solo on verse two. Priceless. After that there was a reception (can good Christian folk celebrate without feasting? I don’t think so.) We managed to choke down a few seasonal cookies. There is considerably more of me today than there was yesterday, but a good time was had by all. (Except maybe the kid with the drum).
This was written by my wife Kathy.
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