Christmas Activities (December 2022)
December 2022 was a very busy activity month for us. This would be the month Tammie retired (December 15). Besides the normal busy Christmas schedule, we had several additional events scheduled to celebrate Tammie’s retirement.
Voctave (December 1)
We began the month by attending a concert by the acapella group, Voctave. After I retired, I began listening to You Tube videos by various acapella groups including Home Free, VoicePlay, and Voctave. We are planning to see each group live at least once. This was a fantastic opportunity to hear this group.
Retirement/Christmas Party (December 9)
For the previous 9 years my wife and I hosted a Christmas party for the juniors and seniors who were enrolled in the Elementary Education major at our college. The Christmas party included food, drinks, decorations, and activities like decorating Christmas cookies, decorating an outdoor tree, games, watching Christmas movies, and playing foosball. For our final year of hosting this party we included a retirement/farewell component. In addition to the juniors and seniors we also invited past graduates to attend. We had a wonderful turnout and got to say farewell to my wife’s current students (most of which I had also taught) and also got to catch up on the lives of some of our recent graduates. It was an excellent way to end Tammie’s teaching career.
Riverbanks Zoo (December 10)
The day after the Christmas/Retirement party we took our three grandchildren to the Riverbanks Zoo in Columbia, SC. In past years we took them to the Zoo Lights. This year we decided to go during the day and let the grandkids do the ropes course, the climbing wall, and maybe even see a few animals. It was a fun and busy day.
School of Education Christmas Pary (December 12)
Each year the School of Education has a Christmas party hosted at the Dean’s house. Since this was Tammie’s last year, the faculty presented her with a farewell gift. They knew that we had planned a trip to Hawaii early in the coming year, so they presented both of us with Hawaiian shirts and a very generous cash gift for us to use for a helicopter tour of the Big Island on our Hawaiin trip.
Greenville County Tree Lighting/BJU Lights (December 13)
Every year the Greenville County Sheriff’s Office hosts a tree lighting ceremony in honor of those who had died in car accidents and homicides in Greenville County. Family members place an ornament on the tree in memory of their loved ones. Each year we bring our grandchildren to the event and have them place an ornament on the tree in memory of their father who was killed in the line of duty as a police officer in the city of Greenville.
After the ceremony we drove to our college campus to see the decorated trees on the front campus. They also stopped by to see Tammie’s nearly empty office for the last time.
Biltmore House (December 20)
When I retired in May 2022, the faculty of the School of Education gave me a gift certificate to the Biltmore House. Biltmore House and estate was built by Cornelius Vanderbilt in 1895. It is located near Asheville, NC. It is beautifully decorated for Christmas and we enjoyed exploring the grounds and the house.
Billy Graham Library (December 21)
The Billy Graham Library is located near Charlotte, NC. We had never visited so this became one of our first after retirement activities. It was interesting to learn about the history of Billy Graham and to see the barn decorated for Christmas. And the restrooms were very interesting to see and experience.
Greenville Swamp Rabbits Hockey Game (December 23)
This one was just for me. I grew up in Detroit, MI and am a life-long hockey fan. The Greenville Swamp Rabbits are a minor league hockey team. We have been to three games previously. I enjoyed the fast pace, the scoring, the hitting, and the occasional fight that broke out. Tammie watched for a while then read to pass the time.
Christmas Eve Grandkids (December 24)
We are fortunate to live close to our three grandchildren. Every Christmas Eve we try to take them to our church’s Christmas Eve Service and then return to our house to exchange gifts. We also try to remind our grandchildren that the reason for Christmas is the birth of our Saviour.
North Carolina Arboretum (December 25)
Since our daughter did not come home this Christmas, we had the day to ourselves. We decided to visit the decorations and lights at the North Carolina Arboretum. It was our first visit there. It is located south of Asheville, NC. It was a cold evening, but the lights and music were beautiful.
Dollywood (December 28)
Dollywood is located in Pigeon Forge, TN. We had visited before but this was our first time during Christmas. We enjoy going for the shows and music. Tammie is not a fan of the rides. I usually try to sneak in one or two while there. Even though Christmas was officially over, Dollywood keeps its Christmas decorations, Christmas music, and Christmas shows through the first week of January. So by going on December 28 we felt like we were extending the Christmas season.
And that’s an end to our first partial year of retirement.