Sleigh bells ring - and he IS listening!!

"That's a Christmas song!" Sayer exclaimed the other day in the car. And so it was. A true confession - I am born and raised Jewish gal who harbors a secret love of Christmas/Holiday music. I just always have; I actually look forward to those 36-hour Christmas Eve/Day radio marathons. I feed my addiction mainly in the car, listening to the radio churn out "White Christmas," "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer" and the like. I only listen without the presence of my husband, Dan, or older son, Jacob, who both call holiday music "drivel."

Back to Sayer's reaction - I was actually impressed that Sayer recognized the song on the radio as a Christmas song - it shows that he can generalize songs he hears in school, at department stores, and so on. I hadn't really thought he noticed that closely what is playing on the radio; and the fact that he does is a good thing.

How much I have changed since the time when Jacob was young, when I was indignant when a Christmas song was played at a school winter concert. When Jacob was young, I clearly told his teachers that he was Jewish, and we would prefer that he not draw or write about Christmas trees or Santa Claus. I did volunteer to help his class mates understand and celebrate Hanukkah, and so I have contributed more dreidels and pennies through the years than I care to count.

Now, I pick my battles, and pick them carefully. This month, when Sayer brought home a December calendar with his drawing of a Christmas tree, I was a bit taken aback - oops; gotta tell the teacher he's Jewish. But, actually, I was more thrilled that:

a) He has learned how to draw a tree (representation drawing is still an "evolving skill") and

b) His teacher thought of having the kids do a calendar with the school schedule on it for us to share with Sayer. Very handy, since we can point out exactly when winter break begins.

Instead of being annoyed, I simply wrote a note saying Sayer was Jewish and he loved to talk about Hanukkah. I also offered to help the class get into the Hanukkah spirit. So, it's off to the party store to stock up on dreidels for his class mates, but it's all good. As long as I can sing along with Burl Ives, Eartha Kitt and John and Yoko, I'm fine with it.