January News

Several weeks ago I sat here at my computer as Matthew came running in from the other room where he was watching TV yelling, "Is it true, is it true? Can you really catch snowflakes on your tongue?" We laughed and then realized he has never seen snow - so the next week when we actually had a little snow, it was a big deal!

He rushed out, tongue ready to see if he could really melt snowflakes in his mouth. I'm sure you'll all be happy to know he has in fact now mastered this skill. He doesn't own gloves and refused to wear socks on his hands (ewww, Mo-om) so after about 10 minutes into exploring the blowing snow, he said, "Mom, can we go in? It's way cold." We went inside, where he continued to watch the snow as it fell and accumulated for several hours on Saturday. It made for a beautiful white yard, but Matthew didn't choose to venture back out. He and his father are united in their feelings about the cold.


It has been a busy week for us. I traveled with Homewood to a choir competition in Laurel, MS last weekend which made for a very long work week! But it was nice to see some family - hello everyone. :) Our kids won their division and came in second overall, so it was a successful venture despite the long bus ride. We also had Auntie JoJo and Uncle Bradley in town for the weekend with Darcie and Hank, so Matthew had lots going on!

This week Matthew's class celebrated their 100th day of school. This affected us primarily because we had to count 100 raisins into a ziploc bag. 100 raisins is not as many as you think it will be. If you shake out what you think will probably be 100 raisins, there will be plenty left over. Unless you are a significantly better judge of raisin mass than are we.

Matthew is learning lots of new things these days...it seems like every day he has something new and amazing to share. Last week he came home and related the story of The Mitten practically word for word. This apparently had a pretty significant impact on him, as he has retold it several times to various people this week, including his Memaw on the phone tonight. :) Tonight on the way home, we stopped at a traffic light in Homewood beside a large American flag and I hear from the back seat, "I pledge allegiance to the flag..." I had no idea he knew this! And he does...the entire thing...how funny that he would just start reciting.

I hope you all are well and happy. Let us know what is going on with you. We love you all.

C, A, M

Granny Garrett

I promised several of you guys an update today, so here goes. After learning third-hand late yesterday that Granny had been in the hospital in Manchester since Wednesday, JoAnna and I made plans to visit today as I have rehearsal tomorrow. We arrived in town this morning just after 10 local time to find Granny had just been moved from her hospital room to the nursing home attached to the hospital. She is now in room 407 in the nursing home.

There are no phones in the patient rooms, but if you call the nurse's station, they will carry a cordless phone to her bedside (if they are available and the phone is not in use, they tell me) and allow her to talk to you. The number for the nurse's station is 931.461.2570.

Granny was tired after the transition today but was overall in fairly good spirits. We had a nice visit in the morning, she ate a good lunch and napped most of the afternoon. Just before we got up to leave around 5pm, I was reminding her to eat well and she said,

"...food isn't the most important thing."
"What is the most important thing, Granny?"
"People"
"Well, Granny, you've had 6 kids and lots of grandkids and friends to impact with that message"
"I can only hope they've taken part of that knowledge away with them. You make sure you take that with you."

I relate the conversation above the best I can remember - perhaps Jo can add her thoughts...it was one of the most clear I can remember having with Granny in a long time and it went on for a little while. She of course cried, but dried her tears quickly and was very lucid and intentional. I still don't think she could have called the two of us by name, but she definitely wanted us to hear her point. It was a really nice end to the evening and made the drive home not quite so long.

I love you all ~C

Happy Birthday Aunt Teresa!

Even though we talked several times about it, we STILL missed Teresa's birthday. We love you Teresa and even though we were so busy this week we forgot to call you,

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!!!!

Back To School

Well, we have enjoyed getting back into the swing of the school year this week after a nice break . Andy headed back to Samford, Matthew to Dawson and I to Homewood and UAB. I am taking 2 courses this spring - chamber choir and elementary methods. Matthew really enjoys school and his friends - although he says his favorite thing to do is play outside, he comes home on a regular basis with new songs and "finger plays." Just before the holiday break he had a new finger play I really liked called "My Mama is a baker!" Ha! Very appropriate, of course. :)*snicker*

On New Year's Day my family came to help with some projects around the house as we continue to get it ready to sell. We laid a new bathroom floor, hung pictures, painted, raked leaves, replaced shoemold, organized closets, grouted tile, took totes and furniture to storage...it was a busy day! Many thanks, everyone! Dad even came back later in the week to install a toilet and finish odd jobs.

My friend Lynn (my MIRACLE friend Lynn) was in town over the weekend and it was great to see her - it has been one year since her miraculous (in the words of the UAB MICU docs) recovery! Happy new birthday Lynnie! She now shares a "new" birthday with my Dad and Uncle Mark. Happy Birthday Dad and Mark!! Matthew sang Happy B'day to Papa on Monday and then asked "How old are you, Papa?"
"55"
"Wow, that's very old! I'm almost 5, that's two fives!"
"Well, in 50 years, you'll have caught up with me"
"Wow, Papa!"

Ha!

I also saw a movie over the weekend - Atonement - it was pretty good - except for the odd ending. It is apparently based on a novel - has anyone read the book? I'd like to read the book.

It was a short week for me as I am headed to Tuscaloosa to the Alabama Music Educators Annual Conference. Andy and Matthew will be joining me - they just can't get enough of those concerts! We'll update when we return. We love you all!

C, A, M ~

Dear Friends and Family,

I am so excited to be acting and singing in a show this spring at the Birmingham Festival Theatre entitled Elegies for Angels, Punks and Raging Queens. As many of you may know, although I direct or music direct school shows quite often, I haven't been onstage myself in quite a while. I am honored to be sharing the stage with some of Birmingham's finest talent for this show and know that it will be a wonderful experience. Elegies, a brilliant piece of musical theatre, is a collection of songs and monologues inspired by the NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt and centers around those affected by the AIDS crisis. Our show runs February 21-24 and will be a benefit for the Alabama AIDS organizations.

I consistenly ask my middle school students to participate in community service projects and push them to find ways to make the world a better place. Last year they won a national award for their over 700 hours of service and traveled to DC to receive their honor. When I was asked to participate in this cast, my first response was, "Thank you, but no, I am simply too busy." And then I realized that I although I am "too busy", this is a project that gets at the heart of what I am trying to teach my students. And what better way to teach than to lead? And so I am thrilled to be joining this amazing cast - I hope you can join us in Birmingham February 21-24 at the Birmingham Festival Theater for Elegies! Part of the actual NAMES project quilt will be on display in the lobby - if you have never seen it, you should definitely come.

Productions of this scope are very costly and we hope to cover production costs before show open with donations so that the AIDS organizations can benefit from our ticket sales. BFT is committed to making this fundraiser a success, but we cannot do it without your help. How could you help? In this show I sing two pieces - "Heroes All Around"and "Holding On." Consider making a donation for each of those two pieces! Do you know someone affected by the AIDS crisis? Consider making a donation in memory of or in honor of them. If you are not able to make a donation to this show but live in the Birmingham area, buy a ticket and come see the show. You will be moved by the show and be able to support your local AIDS organizations in one fell swoop. A win-win situation.

For those of you interested in making a donation to this amazing piece of theatre, we would love to offer you the following:

For $1000 or more, your name or the name of your organization will be on both the poster and in the program and you may have your own piece of the quilt in the lobby of the BFT.

For $100-$999, your name will be displayed on a call board in the BFT lobby and in the "Thank you" section of the program for this production.

For $100 and under, your name will be mentioned in the "Thank you" section of the program for this production.

BFT is a nonprofit theatre, so there will be a tax deduction with your donation. Any donation is welcome (as well as anonymous donations) and I hope that we can make this a very special production that will leave an impact on the theatre community and the Birmingham area for years. Donations should be made payable to BFT with "Elegies" in the memo line and may be sent to me at:

Cherith Parrish
629 Barclay Lane
Birmingham, AL 35206

Thank you so much for supporting my music and theater habits over the years and always being such a wonderful network for me ~ you are gems and I treasure you!

~Cherith