Winter Break Free Response
Ellen Christensen
Mr. Cheng
Over winter break I did many things. My brother and his Bostonian girlfriend came home for four nights over Christmas, and my sister Jane came home from college in New York. She brought home a lot of luggage too because she is spending her second semester in Paris, France. My sister and I had to do a lot of last minute Christmas shopping two days before Christmas Eve. So we spent our day in uptown and at best buy, buying an iPad for my mom and noise cancelling Bose headphones for my dad. That night I had to sing Christmas Carols at the Galleria with my chamber choir.
The next day, the day before Christmas Eve, my family and I drove to Saint Paul and saw the 1968 exhibit at the History Museum. It was a very interesting exhibit and I learned a lot of new things about that year. My dad had a business meeting after that, so my mom, sister, brother, his girlfriend, and I went to the Saint Paul Grill and ate a hearty lunch. That night my chamber choir and I sang our final gig at the Burwell house in Wayzata. It was sad to be done with our caroling festivities, but I was also happy that I didn’t have to sing “O Christmas Tree” anymore. Whew…what a relief! After our final gig, we all went to a friends house and had a mini Chamber party. It was a fun time to socialize and relax.
The next day was Christmas Eve. I was getting very nervous for the four PM mass. I was that sole cantor, and all of the music was brand new. I was also starting to lose my voice from the many days of caroling. My siblings and I distributed our annual jams around the neighborhood, and then I returned home to fully warm up my voice. We got to the church at three and I started to relax and settle my nerves. I put on my white robe and the children’s choirs began to sing their Christmas melodies. I sang the mass perfectly, and my voice held out for the hour and thirty minute mass. Driving home to a welcoming home full of my extended family was a relief and a blessing. We hosted thirty-four family members at our house. There was a brand new two-week old baby to hold and toddlers scurrying around excited for Santa to come down the chimney that night. It was a fun-filled evening of laughs and tears, joyful with the new additions to the family, and sad remembering the family members that we’ve lost. The biggest surprise of the night was the book made for each member of the family. This book contained the Christensen/Nasby/Fjelstadt family history and the memories of our family’s past. Tears filled my eyes as I turned each page. It was a special night, but once the clock struck midnight, I knew it was time to retire to my bed.
The next morning, we all gathered in our porch as my mother and father prepared the kitchen and living room for present-opening. I could smell the cinnamon buns warming in the oven, and the Christmas tea brewing in the pot. The nutcracker started playing, and we knew that was our cue to join our parents around the Christmas tree full of unopened presents. Our stockings were filled to the brim and we couldn’t wait to see what was inside. After we opened all of our presents, we all hugged and kissed each other, thankful for family and love. We then went to have Christmas breakfast. We laughed around the kitchen table reminiscing the festivities of Christmas Eve. It was a very family orientated Christmas and we made many lasting memories. That afternoon, my brother, his girlfriend, my sister and I watched MacGruber, a silly movie with a lot of violence and crude jokes. That night we went to my aunt’s house for post dinner cocktails and cookies. It was my mother’s side of the family so there were many, many laughs. I was exhausted at that point and all I wanted to do was climb in to bed and sleep for fifteen hours.
The next day I woke up feeling slightly under the weather, so I spent the day sitting on a couch in front of the television watching Elf and other classic Christmas movies.
The next day I spent with a dear friend, Anna. We spent the day lounging around. After hours of sitting on our butts we decided to hang out with our mutual friend Isabel and her cousin, Veronica. We had Panera for dinner and invited some guys to come and hang out with us at Anna’s house. That night was definitely the highlight of my winter break. It was a fun night spent with old and new friends. Unfortunately, I got home two hours past my curfew and my mom got pretty upset with me.
The next day I woke up feeling a little healthier. My mom and I did some dress shopping for my upcoming college auditions, but only found one dress. It is brown lace with short sleeves and looks wonderful with grey tights. It will be perfect for the occasion. I spent the rest of the night prepping for my duet I would be performing on December thirtieth.
The twenty-ninth came around and it was the beginning of the big Prelude Celebration. I had to bring food and beverages to Manon and Thaxter’s party pad. The night was filled with beautiful music and wonderful reconnections with old Prelude friends. I went home that night exhausted but excited to perform my duet the next day with my best friend Mattie Hogg.
The fourteen-hour Prelude Extravaganza was a day for the memory books. I reconnected with many of my old friends who are now seniors in college, and learned some great lessons from theater’s finest such as, Matthew Howe, Sigmund Reed, and Ryan Underbakke. Many tears were shed upon hearing the beautiful music that day. I started feeling my throat close up right before Mattie and I were to perform. I quick took some cough syrup and two advil and I felt brand new. We sang our duet and the crowd erupted with applause. I was so nervous I couldn’t remember the performance after the fact, but it was well received. Hearing a mortuary science student sing an aria from Cosi Fan Tutti was amusing and very impressive. Other original compositions were played and I couldn’t believe how much talent came out of a performing group that I am apart of. I was so proud of every single performer and it put that icing on top of an already satisfying winter break (or shall I say cake?).
