Liberation!!

At last this long day is over, and our family can get down to the serious business of the holidays! Spilly and hubby arrived at the portable around 4:30, and we hightailed it out of there, lugging the classroom tree and a whole pile of chocolate, mugs, jewelry, ornaments, mystery clay objects, gift certificates, etc. etc. (Next year I think I am going to suggest that people donate to a worthy cause instead.) Spilly wrote her name on the board, held the door for us to leave, climbed several snowhills/capered around on top of them (totally against the school rules I'd been enforcing only an hour or so before), and finally agreed to get in the car.

We went to Swiss Chalet for dinner, where Spilly had a joyful reunion with the best waitress in the world, Mai. They had the kind of big, rotating hug best reserved for sappy romantic films. Then they went and investigated the cool computer screen Mai uses, and raided the restaurant's stash of chocolates together. If you want the insider's view of Swiss Chalet, you want to have a Spilly. She is like a VIP pass.

Then we headed home so she could distribute Mommy's class gifts to every corner of the house, and hang the empty gift bags from every conceivable place (including Spilly's head). Under the tree went the Spills' mysterious gift from Mommy's good teacher friend, who teaches Grade One at Mommy's school and has quite an understanding with the Spillster. They share a love of Grover and Olivia, among other things.

And now the Spilly One is in her bath, talking to Sanjaya again. Apparently he, unlike she, has to stay in school throughout the next two weeks. The upside is that he will be having a party each day he's there. His poor, poor teacher.