During the day, the older kids would have chores included in their morning classes, and the younger kids would have chores included in their afternoon classes. Each group might be split further so that all kids had opportunities for hands-on learning, especially working with the animals and cooking. Then, the older kids would have academic learning in the afternoon, while the younger kids would do academics in the mornings. I was not at all surprised to see how many people jumped in and volunteered to teach different topics. I suspected that if our planned schooling went half as well as we thought it would, our kids would get a really well-rounded education.
For foreign languages, the kids would have a choice of Spanish (Maria), French (Gabby), Latin (Father Dan), Russian (Allie), or German (me.). Jon would teach music, and Marcie would teach art. I agreed to teach science and history. Kiara said she would be glad to teach astronomy, as that was a serious hobby of hers. Chris was going to teach math, and Patty said she would do English. For the survival training, Janet and Gabby would teach cooking and Stacy would teach sewing. Clark and Zoe would teach animal care. Lionel volunteered to teach first aid and CPR. Chuck and Mark agreed to teach firearm safety. Top volunteered to teach self defense. Samantha suggested she teach herbal medicine. Chuck and Tom also agreed to teach reloading as an elective if students were interested. Scooter offered to teach field craft, and Jimbo offered to teach physical education, consisting of exercise and sports.
When this was presented to the kids, we were surprised by how excited they were. They wanted to know how soon they could start. We said we needed a day to get ready, so we would start the day after tomorrow, and we would take a break from Christmas Eve to the day after Christmas.
The first week of classes went extremely well. I'm not sure who had more fun, the students or the teachers! We used the whiteboard to outline who was doing which classes each day, and that really helped keep us organized. In addition to all the activity of school, there was a flurry of other activities as well. The soldiers were busy getting settled in my basement; all the adults (including the soldiers) were busy making things for the kids for Christmas; Father Dan was caught up in the upcoming weddings and baptism. and Janet and the kitchen crew were working as hard as they could to keep up with the planned receptions, making Christmas treats, and the day-to-day feeding of so many people. Although we were all starting to get into the Christmas spirit, we did not let our security slip. Mark, Top, Frank, and Bill worked together to improve security even more. The addition of a number of real claymores and the M2 50-caliber Browning machine gun from the MRAP greatly improved our comfort level! Mark suggested that in the spring, we may want to move the berm out to take advantage of more land for our growing population, and Frank and Bill agreed with that.
Chapter 21
Christmas was only two days away, and we woke up to a good eight inches of snow with more falling. We shoveled a path to get to the barn and tied a rope from the back porch to the barn. Because the snow was falling so heavily, we were afraid people would get lost going from the house to the barn. We did the same thing from the house to the pole barn, and yet another connecting the RVs to the barn. It was hard work keeping paths clear, especially because this snow was wet and heavy. We cancelled classes for the day, and the house was full of secret holiday activities.
As the day went on, the temperature began to drop, and the snow came faster and deeper. Our security cameras were all but useless, and we pulled in the people from the OP and our roving security guards. By dinnertime, the thermometer was reading -2°, and there was at least two feet of snow on the ground. We had the barn generator running to keep the chickens and rabbits warm. The bigger animals were warm enough thanks to the wood stove in the barn, and Clark, Maureen, and the girls decided to bring sleeping bags into the barn for the night, as it was just too cold in their RV.
I decided that as cold as it was, we needed something fun to get everyone ready for the holiday. I talked to Tom, and we decided it was time to decorate the tree in the pole barn. First, we got the wood stove in the barn roaring, and put on a big pot of water to make hot cocoa. I brought over my stereo with a stack of Christmas music. We then got Jon and Chris to set up the big tree they had cut down yesterday. Once the pole barn was reasonably warm and the vat of cocoa was ready, we rounded everyone up and sent them all to the pole barn along with all of the ornaments that everyone had been making. The combination of the gentle lantern light, the fresh pine smell of the tree, the glow from the stove, and the soft sound of Christmas carols in the background created an atmosphere straight from an old-fashioned Christmas card. I'm not sure who had more fun, the kids or the adults. Over the course of several hours, our tree went from plain to completely decorated. The last ornament to go on was the star on top. Lionel and Jimbo Wyatt lifted Anaya so she could place the star on the ten-foot-tall tree. After the star was placed, we all stood back to admire our handiwork. There were homemade paper chains, popcorn strings dipped in glitter, pine cones decorated with all kinds of shiny items, paper snowflakes, and home-made candy canes. As we all sat back appreciating our work, someone started singing Silent Night, and soon everyone joined in. All of the little kids had found laps to sit on and hands to hold. The adults, too, were holding hands. I looked around at all the faces of my family, both biological and adopted. You could not tell we had fought a deadly battle only days before and could be called to defend ourselves again at any time. You couldn't tell civilization had collapsed and bad things were happening in the world. You couldn't see the tremendous losses some of our group had suffered. You could not see the stress, anxiety, grief, and worry that plagued all of us. All you could see was the deep caring we all shared and the hope in everyone's eyes for a better future. As the song ended, there was a sudden magical silence in the room. The quiet was broken by Tommy asking, "Is this where we are supposed to say 'God bless us every one'?" Of course, we all started laughing. We began cleaning up, and slowly groups of people left to go back to the house.
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By morning of Christmas Eve, there was just over four feet of snow on the ground, and, unbelievably, the snow kept on coming. At least the temperature had come up a little bit, but not much. After all, there's not a lot of difference between -2° and 8° - it is still way too darn cold! A few of the guys decided to sleep in the pole barn last night to keep the fire going so it would be warm enough for the baptism after breakfast.
I went over to Chris and Stacy's room to bring the christening gown for Baby John. Luckily, the gown was made to be loose and long, because it is unbelievable how quickly he was growing! I was afraid he would not fit in the gown, but he did, although just barely! I also brought Stacy pictures of Chris wearing this same gown. When the boys were born, we were in a quandary of what to do, since I wanted both boys to wear the gown. Grandma solved that problem by making an identical gown. Both boys wore both gowns, and now I have an identical gown pressed and hanging in my closet ready for Jon and Gabby's baby. After John was dressed, we wrapped him in the same white cashmere wool blanket his daddy wore. Stacy then pinned a small religious medal to his blanket. She explained that the medal was called a Miraculous Medal and had been given to her at her baptism by her Catholic grandmother. Since John was to be baptised by a Catholic priest, she felt it was appropriate for her to pass it on to John so he could one day give it to his firstborn.
I was glad to see Stacy and Chris believed in passing on traditions. One of the problems with today's society is the loss of traditions and traditional values. I was glad that our family was doing its part to keep those traditions alive. I wanted my grandson to grow up being reminded of the past and to know about the things that were important to his family. He may not be able to meet his ancestors, but he needed to know about them and learn from them.
I guess I was off in la-la land thinking about traditions, because after Chris called "Mom" several times, he finally took my arm to get my attention. "It's time, Mom. Let's go get this boy baptised!" I was
pleasantly surprised when we got to the pole barn to see that Father Dan was there waiting , along with everyone else. Father Dan was dressed in his clerical attire, a white alb with a deep purple stole. A small table had been set up in front of him, covered with a white cloth. On the table were two lit candles, a silver bowl, a small silver shell, and a little round silver container that I found out later contained holy oil. Once everyone was settled, Father Dan began the Baptismal ceremony. He began by talking about the meaning of baptism, and explained why it was such an important Christian concept. He followed that with several prayers and a reading from the Bible from the book of Matthew telling of Jesus' baptism.
"Today is a joyous day for all of us, as we welcome John into the family of Christ. Chris and Stacy, you've asked to have your child baptised. This means you are taking on the responsibility of raising him in the Christian faith, to follow God's commandments as taught to us by Jesus Christ, and to love God and his neighbors. Do you agree to this responsibility?"
Stacy and Chris responded, "We do." Father Dan then asked the godparents to step forward. The entire congregation stood. I did not realize that Chris and Stacy asked every member of our group to be a godparent, and I was extremely touched.
"Do all of you agree to help Chris and Stacy raise John to be a good Christian man, to be good role models for him, and to teach him to follow God's commandments?" Everyone answered together, "We do."
Father Dan then blessed the water and the oil, then turned to Chris and Stacy.
"Chris and Stacy, name this child"
"His name is John Henry."
Father Dan then took John from Stacy and using the little silver shell, scooped water from the silver bowl, and poured a bit over John's head. "John Henry, I baptise you in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit." He then took the little jar of oil and made the sign of the cross on John's forhead, saying "John Henry, you are sealed by the Holy Spirit in Baptism and marked as Christ's own forever. "
After a brief sermon on baptism, Father Dan ended the service with a very familiar blessing:
"May the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in the knowledge and love of God, and of his Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. May almighty God bless you, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit."
Baby John was a trooper throughout the ceremony, only letting out one squawk when the water was poured on his head. When that happened, I grinned to myself, because I remembered Grandma saying when a baby cried when he was baptised, it was from the devil being driven out of him. For the rest of the ceremony, John watched Father Dan, his big dark eyes following every move Father Dan made.
After the ceremony, everyone pressed around to wish the new young family well. Janet and Gabby got everyone's attention and asked for some help carrying lunch into the pole barn. While lunch was being set up, I went over to Father Dan to thank him for such a beautiful ceremony. I thanked him for doing such a great job, making the ceremony very ecumenical, and let him know how much I appreciated that. He smiled and reminded me that just because he was Catholic didn't mean he couldn't pray in Methodist or Episcopal!
The lunch party went on for an hour or two, and then it was time to clean up and finish up any Christmas Eve chores to be done. Tomorrow would be a really busy day!
Chapter 22
It was late on Christmas Eve before I got to bed. After dinner, I brought all of the stockings over to the pole barn. Jon and Chris built a rail that went almost the whole way around the pole barn with nails every eight inches to hang the stockings. I spent a lot of time making them and putting each person's name on the cuff with glue and glitter. While all of the stockings had soap, shampoo, lotion, mittens, and a hat, I tried to also put something personal in each one. For example, Marcie loved Snickers, so I put a couple of Snicker Bars in hers. I was really glad for our trips to Costco and to the drug store in Asheville, as that's where a lot of the personal things came from. I tried to put some kind of toy in each of the kids' stockings. Some got puzzles, some got bubbles, and others got slinkies or jacks.
Earlier in the evening many of the adults came over and put presents for the kids under the tree. We needed to remember to be really careful removing the wrapping paper so we could use it again, as I doubted anyone would be making Christmas paper any time soon.
While I was hanging the stockings, Tom came over to the pole barn to keep me company. After we were done hanging stockings and making sure the presents were all perfectly displayed under the tree, we sat and just talked for a little while. We both reminisced about Christmases past. Tom shared that he and Linda, his late wife, were married the week before Christmas, and since they had no kids, they used to travel every Christmas. He talked about one year when they went to New York City, and visited Rockerfeller Center to see the tree and the ice skaters, then wandered around looking at all of the fancy window displays while eating hot chestnuts bought from a vendor. Another year, they spent Christmas in Munich, Germany, visiting the Christmas markets and eating at the famed Hofbrauhaus. I shared my Christmas in Afghanistan, talking to the boys and John on the phone, and spending most of the day visiting with soldiers on my ward, singing Christmas carols and trying to dispel homesickness.
Finally, we realized it was getting late, so we banked the fire in the wood stove, extinguished the lanterns, and headed through the snow back into the house.
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Christmas morning we had kids everywhere, it seemed, all up early and dressed, ready to go out to the pole barn to see if Santa had found us. I went over to the pole barn very early to get the fire going, light the lanterns, and make sure everything was ready. The breakfast crew came in and set up a breakfast buffet, and soon enough everyone followed. I must admit, it was not just kids that were excited to see the tree, the stockings, and the huge pile of gifts under the tree. I suggested that we eat breaksfast first while it was still hot, and then we could begin to open presents. Breakfast was fairly light, as we knew we would be feasting tonight at the wedding party. There were cinnamon muffins, biscuits with egg and cheese, and sausage-stuffed pancake rolls.
After we inhaled our breakfast, everyone had to go check out their stockings. There were a lot of shrieks and giggles, in part because none of the adults expected to get anything for Christmas, but mostly because it was just so much fun to watch others find little trinkets in their stockings. Then we started passing out gifts to the kids. By the time the last present was opened, there was not a dry eye in the house. That is how Christmas is supposed to be - doing things to make other people happy, and not worrying about who is getting the latest electronic doo-dads or the newest style of clothes. The kids were ecstatic with their homemade toys, and began playing with the toys - and each other - right away.
By the time we folded and packed away all the wrapping paper, it was almost noon. The weddings were scheduled for three o'clock, so that gave us a little time to clean up from breakfast and set everything up for the ceremonies. At the far end of the pole barn we dragged the chairs over to form rows, divided by an aisle in the middle. In front of the chairs we set up a small table with two candles to be the altar, and left enough space for all of the brides and grooms. We all agreed that we would not be getting dressed up – mostly because so many people did not have any dress-up clothes.
As it got closer to three o'clock, people started drifting in and finding a seat. Right at three, Father Dan entered, followed by James and Tim. As they took their place in front of the crowd, everyone got really quiet. Suddenly, Jon began playing "Here Comes the Bride" on his guitar. The door to the pole barn opened and in came the brides. Both ladies were wearing white dresses. I have no idea how they were able to come up with wedding "gowns," but I suspect Stacy and the sewing circle had something to do with it. Samantha came in first, her blonde hair swept up into a French twist accented by curls, followed by Judy. Both brides wore small veils – where did they get the material? Instead of a bouquet, each bride carried a s
ingle silk rose. Samantha's rose was tied with a blue ribbon and Judy's with a yellow ribbon. All eyes were on the brides as they came down the aisle. I was moved to tears watching the faces of the grooms as they saw their brides. There was a lot of love in the room at that moment!
Father Dan conducted a lovely wedding ceremony, and as soon as the last "I do's" faded away and both grooms kissed their brides, the audience stood and began clapping. We've been though so much together, and I hoped such a happy occasion would be an omen for our continued success.
After the newly married couples walked down the aisle, they were surrounded by well-wishers. A few of the men moved the chairs over to the tables, and everyone sat down to dinner. Janet, Gabby, and Maria outdid themselves with an incredible feast. They roasted several large beef and venison roasts from the freezer, with gravy, potatoes, and a variety of vegetables. In the corner, a cart was hidden behind a sheet hanging from the ceiling. When everyone was done eating, the sheet was pulled back and the wedding cake was revealed, amidst oohs and aahs. The cake was one large sheet cake, topped with two large hearts. In place of cake toppers, icing roses covered the cakes and cascaded down the sides. One heart had pale blue roses, and the other had pale yellow roses. This did not look like a post-apocalyptic cake at all! I could tell Gabby had a lot to do with the cake, and sure enough, Janet gave Gabby the credit. People were so stunned to see such a beautiful cake they started clapping when the screen was pulled back! Gabby blushed with the praise, and it was cute to see Jon beaming with pride for his wife. The cooking crew also put together a special wedding punch. The newly wed couples then came up to help cut the cake. Several of our teens helped pass out slices of the cake.
Premonitions (Book 1): The Farm Page 23