Christmas School Spirit and the Angst over Smiling

It's bound to happen during the month of December.

Holiday hooplah pulls me away from time with my needle.

Luckily, most of the distractions are either fun or creative so that's a blessing.

One of my December distractions this morning has been working in Photoshop to create Christmas stationery using Jack's school logo.



Next Wednesday night, we're having a Mother's Christmas dinner where I'll be bartending (woohoo!) and where we'll be giving each Mom that attends a set of five notecards.

The "committee" is reviewing them all now...Originally, we were thinking of choosing one...but I kind of like a mixed set...

It's a nice idea. I can just imagine Jack sending some out to his grandparents with his current school picture enclosed...Only problem is that he hates his picture this year...His Grand Nina told him she didn't care. She still wanted one.

The only problem with his school picture this year was that he forgot how to smile genuinely. Somewhere around last year, he started over-thinking how to smile when he's getting his picture taken. And so what we end up with is something a bit...well...


awkward.

I can almost feel his discomfort.

And that's why I love the picture...It perfectly captures this period of teenage angst and gawkiness. And I love it that his grandmother still wants one.

But I digress. I didn't plan to mention Jack's school photo but I never know quite what will come forward when I show up here to blog.

I do remember I changed my smile for about two weeks back in Eighth grade. I had a friend named Bobby who had beautiful, white, straight teeth. When he smiled, both rows of his teeth showed and I thought his smile was awesome. I thought his smile made him way more cool than most of the rest of us.

When I smile, only my top row of teeth shows...so for two weeks when I was 12, I decided to try on a new smile.

For two straight weeks, I smiled with both rows of my teeth showing.

Until my mother noticed one day and asked,

"What are you doing?"


"What???", I asked...as if I didn't know...

"Why are you smiling like that? It looks ridiculous..."

"Like what??" I shrugged. And that was it.

That ended the brief, Big Cheese Smile era.

The other night, I tried the Big Cheese smile on during dinner. It only took one time before Jack asked the same question my Mom had over 30 years ago...So I told him the story about the two weeks when I changed my smile. And he said, "Mom. I agree with Grammy. That really does look ridiculous."

Oh boy, I digress again. Back to our regularly scheduled programming...

In case you didn't know about all the beautiful digital designs that are available, here are a few sites I frequent to purchase digital "scrapbooking" elements...though I rarely use them for scrapbooking...

Rhonna Designs
Two Peas in a Bucket
Designer Digitals
Shabby Miss Jenn Designs

Hoping to get to my needle today but I'm not so sure that's going to happen...

Happy day to you all, no matter how awkward you might feel.