Esperanza made her way to my bookcase, and brought a friend. This friend, a plush mini elf was hanging on a tree on the opposite side of the house. Well played Esperanza. This picture also shows off some of my favorite books and my Funko Pop figure of Elf on the Shelf. There was a time when I bought everything Elf on the Shelf related. I used to blog four to five times a week then too.
Today's "service" advent was, "Do one of your sister's chores". Groans all around, but they made it work. Their rooms are clean, and their school stations organized. I can't complain.
Yesterday, our advent activity was to read books to each other. Mac read Jolly Postman, Caitlin read Crayons, and I read Santa Mouse. Did we use funny voices and create our own endings? Of course we did. Was it time well spent with zero screens? Yes! I love so many things about Christmas, but I think Christmas books brings real magic. As a kid I always loved reading about other traditions and foods. I can remember reading Santa Mouse for the first time and insisting that we leave out cheese with the cookies on Christmas Eve. I have a shelf full of Christmas books, for kids and grown ups, and love returning to old favorites every year.
Today was my last zoom for the screenwriting class I took this semester, and I am a little heartbroken. I've been wanting to take a screenwriting class for years, but I could never find one I could really afford or attend. Many of them happen in other parts of the world. Lucky for me, I discovered one at my local my community college, and I knew I would regret it if I didn't sign up. My professor was fantastic, the guest speakers were amazing (Hello, Bruce Gilbert who produced 9 to 5!), and I wrote act one of a full length feature. To be honest, Act 1 is only about 25 pages, but even after years of creative writing it was still challenging to write. I can say that the payoff was amazing. When my class workshopped and did a cold reading of the script, they laughed at all the right places. It was bliss.
Twenty Twenty has been weird and isolating and sad at times, but taking this class really helped me focus on other things. I actually had a place to be and deadlines to meet. I'm sad that I won't see those people on a regular basis, but I did sign up for the playwriting class for the spring. Flexing my writing muscles in ways I haven't before is one of my favorite things. For now, I'm sitting with the success of writing an Act 1, getting it workshopped, revising it, and turning it in. It may never go farther than the "submit assignment" box to my professor, but I did it.
XO,
Megs
