Thank you very much...

Well it looks like our boy, whom we shall affectionately call Nugget (after his therapy horse), has been learning about someone new in school recently. Was it Mother Teresa, Gandhi, Roosevelt or ooh, the guy who invented the cotton gin?? One moment while I google his name to confirm...Eli Whitney. No, not him but let me read up more on 'ol Eli to see if he makes sense to me now that I am out of school.

Actually, Nugget is practicing for a Christmas recital which shall take place in two weeks and their person for the month of December is Elvis Presley. Wow, Elvis...he is such a, such a...such a hunk of burning love. The song they will be entertaining us with is Blue Christmas.

A little slow and a little on the romantic/missing someone side but okay. I'm thinking they might as well sing the sad holiday Eagles song of "Bells Will Be Ringing" and have us all reminisce and look off into space wondering if we should make that holiday call to our 8th grade love. But, he's our Nugget and that is his song and we will be present with cameras flashing and tears in our eyes.

I have to share though what this song reminds me of before this group of 2nd graders replace my memory. My family had this vintage stereo cabinet system in our living room which contained hundreds of albums, well seemed like it to me at that time. I am talking about Earth, Wind and Fire, James Taylor, Steely Dan, Bee Gees, Kenny Rogers and whoever else you can think of. The album collection was not the only thing this old heavy wooden stereo carried, we also had 8 tracks. Oh yeah baby, Chicago's "Color My World" is playing so pipe down!

The album we always played when decorating the tree was none other than Blue Christmas. I admit, I played it so much out of the holiday season that I ruined the record needle and thought we only had one holiday out of the year. It brings back sooooo many memories, oh yes, "Memories" with Barbra Streisand was in the collection too.

So now I will have a new memory in a couple of weeks that just may be good enough to fill in. It's not just about a song, it's not just about a holiday, it's about my boy. It's about Nugget finally having a school where he is seen as an equal and not a boy with disabilities. Special Ed mentality does not exist in this school. Special Ed may as well be a puppet character name of an elephant who celebrates his birthday year round.

And so I say in my best curled lip to Elvis, I whisper "thank you, thank you very much"...

Papi Maldina