Holiday Break

It is crazy to think that the holiday season is already here and in a few short weeks we will be celebrating the coming of 2018. I am always amazed at how fast time goes from the start of school until the holiday break, and in general how quickly students move through elementary school. You can ask any parent of a 5^th grader and they will confirm that in fact the time does actually fly and by the time you blink the child you dropped off at Kindergarten, in what seems like yesterday, is in 5^th grade getting ready to meet with middle school counselors and plan out their schedule.
           
 As we enter the holiday break, I hope you all get the opportunity to take a step back from the daily grind and truly enjoy some quality family time. I remember when I was in 3^rd grade my father bought me a Talkboy (think the toy used in Home Alone 2) it was the coolest toy, used by the coolest kid in movies, and I loved it. I would run around the house recording everything that I said and then play it back so I could laugh at it 45 seconds later, I was an easily amused child. However the best part of that break was when my dad came into the office and we recorded our, what I thought was going to be number one chart topping song, Dinosaur Feet. I remember everything about those 40 minutes with my dad in his office. I remember the horrible ugly Star Wars sweater he had on, and how when he spun around in the black office chair with a goofy look on his face, I absolutely lost it with laughter. I remember the brown fold out couch that I would throw myself into every time he played the song back. I remember trying to hide myself under the Red Wings blanket when he would go to tickle me as if the blanket was going to stop it.  But, mostly I remember how in those 40 minutes my dad made me feel as if I was the most important person in the world. It didn’t matter that we had limited Christmas presents that year, or that he had just sold his company. It didn’t matter that my grades weren’t the best, and that I wasn’t sure if I wanted to play hockey anymore. It didn’t matter that the in-laws were coming over, that we had dinner to prepare, or that the house was a mess. What mattered most to me was that my dad found 40 minutes to spend with me doing literally nothing but laughing and singing about Dinosaur Feet. It was a lasting memory that I will carry with me always, I still cannot believe how fresh the memory year some 20 years later.
          
  I hope this holiday break you can find your 40 minutes, you can find some time to put the phones away and disconnect from it all. Who knows maybe in 20 years your child will be sitting at his desk writing a letter about their 2017 holiday break and how their parents created a memory for them that will last their entire lifetime as well.

All the best,
Mr. Moore