Stay
Sayed Aasim Qadri
The sun had just risen when I woke up on Christmas morning. Nathan was sound asleep, and there was no sound from the adjoining room where the children were sleeping.
The kids were demented with the excitement of Santa Claus finding them in Liechtenstein. They had us send letters to Santa informing him of the change of address this year, and due to their body clocks getting confused by the drastic change in time zones, I consequently had an incredibly vexatious time getting them to go to sleep, but then Nathan shouts “Go to sleep, boys!” from the next room and all of a sudden there was silence. When I checked in on them a few moments later, they were both lying flat on their backs, arms and legs spread as if exhaustion had simultaneously knocked them out cold.
I slid out from underneath the feathery quilt and walked to the window overlooking the frozen lake. I put my hand flat against the glass. It felt cold, but the room was warm. There was a giant Christmas tree in the center of the lake, twinkling through the dawn with it’s red and green lights. It was all so beautiful. I knew when I would look back on this holiday, I would remember it in its entirety: full and cremant, like the champagne Nathan and I had last night.
I spent the next hour taking a relaxing bath sipping on some champagne as I withdrew myself from all my Earthly attachments. There has always been something about the ‘pop’ of a champagne cork that has me infatuated, and that being
His alarm went off early the next morning and he groaned as he got up to turn it off. He was just starting to fall asleep. He barely remembered the night before, and he was as tired as a kid could be. He struggled as he slowly forced himself out of bed and to his closet to get dressed.
It was a cold winter's evening and the night was as dark as coal. The town was very bizarre tonight. Infact more than usual. The town was tiny but it was very easy for people to assimilate in it. It was three days before Christmas and people were thrilled about that final day to come. Everybody ran around like maniacs trying to do last minute shopping.
that night, she lay in her bed as it snowed, trying to understand the world; trying to feel the
It would be wise for him to leave now before it’s too late but as always something distracts him. With a sentimental fondness, he watches a young girl with a age of five or six years, as she stares up into the night sky trying to glimpse Santa’s sleigh. Then he smiles broadly at her squeal of joy as the first flakes of snow begin to tumble to down, dusting everything with a soft magical powder. Her parents shiver and wrap their scarfs tighter around their faces while clutching song sheets in their gloved hands, determined not to let the chilly weather deter them from this annual traditional.
High atop a crystalline-white mountain was a wooden cabin, nestled between the towering evergreen trees. The cabin was decorated with garish Christmas lights and poinsettias that resembled fiery red stars. Inside, the adults were drinking and singing the night away while down the hall, the children had fallen asleep around the Christmas tree waiting for St. Nick to come.
He had just put the kids to bed when it happened. They were tucked in their cozy blankets with their teddy bears nuzzled against their warm bodies without a care in the world. Nothing was supposed to go wrong on their vacation away from the chaos they called life, but apparently vacation didn’t want to play along.
I opened the door to the porch to see that the cookies and milk haven’t been touched, not one bit. The only thing you saw on the glass my a ice coat and on the cookies well they were just stone hard cold. Was this for real, what Nathan was saying about how Santa was real. It just couldn’t be but It looked like it more and more I thought about it. I remember the box from my ice skates and it was from Kendal’s Toy Store. Wouldn’t Santa’s elves have wrapped my gift? It was all becoming a blur, and this was going to be the worst Christmas ever. I ran at out of the house with my warm mittens, coat, boats, and my new ice skates. I didn’t tell my mom I was leaving but I didn’t care about anything at the moment. I found a creek down below by my house and started skating on the ice just crying about all had what happened. Why was this happening to me? All of a sudden I saw a small crack in the ice and it kept getting bigger, bigger, and bigger. Until all of a sudden I caved into the ice falling into the freezing cold
I press my face against the icy cold window. I watch one by one the snowflakes fall in the moonlight. I can tell it’s Christmas time even though nobody here says anything about it. It’s as if the ward tries to drag us away from any traditions a normal person would do. I think about the Christmases I spent with my kids.
Jonathan woke up in the middle of the night. His wife Ann was right next to him. He tried to go back to sleep for a long time but failed. Jonathan went to the bathroom and splashed his face with cold water. He then went over to his closet and got dressed. One of his two kids, Alex walked into Jonathan’s bedroom still rubbing his eyes. Alex was eleven. After a silent agreement, they both went downstairs. Alex opened the fridge and grabbed a Mountain Dew. Jonathan started to make coffee.
The Christmas tree was lit up and bob was sleepy he started to snore. The snow was falling all night long the plants and snow as decorations.
Outside the window, snow drizzled lightly. “Goodmorning, honey,” my sleepy husband’s glazed eyes looked at me melodically as he spoke. I replied, “Goodmorning, love.” It was time to begin my day. I shuffled up the cold stairs to go wake my precious babies- Ellie, Brock, and Marsy. We all got dressed in our warm winter clothes and headed out the door. The New York air and fresh breeze of Christmas rolled into our home as my little six year old Brock shut the door behind us.
In Survey I, 91.9% of the participants reported that they have cheated on at least one homework assignment; however, when asked why they receive answers, 13.5% of the participants stated that they do not receive answers (Appendix D). Therefore, it can be concluded that some students believe that cheating on homework assignments is not considered as immoral. This may further explain why students cheat.
“ But Mom you know how excited I am. And it's a tradition to always open one present on Christmas Eve.” As the older siblings came down stairs they opened only one present. Like always they got new pajamas. Guests started to arrive at the house, causing the house to get louder. Ava and her cousin Aubree came running towards me. “This is my best friend” said Ava pointing at me. “Awww, It's nice to meet you Mr. Christmas Tree” said Aubree.
“I think it was around nine o’clock. I must have been asleep when you got here, I didn’t hear you. When did you get home?”
The majority of students have, at one point or another, wished for less homework. For some student’s homework is not a big issue but for other students it can take hours and even days to do all their homework. That wasted time could be used for enjoyment or learning life skills instead of homework. Nine in ten high school students reported feeling stressed about homework (Galloway 4). So, should students get less homework? Yes, students should receive less homework because it improves their well-being by reducing stress and its impacts on health, increasing leisure time, and showing that homework does not affect grades significantly.