What's a Cherub Anyway?

It's natural to love this time of year.

Why is it that the darkest, coldest, most unwelcoming part of the year is when I feel most alive?  The crisp air slaps me in the face and reminds me to wake up as I walk to my morning classes, clad in my winter boots concealing my christmas socks underneath.  The best part about winter? Hot. Beverages.  Holding a steaming cup of a hot chocolate up to my face and breathing deeply wakes me up and makes me feel like I am back at home, sitting by the fire in my plaid christmas pajamas wrapping presents with my mom, fighting about how to perfectly fold the corners of the cheesy santa wrapping paper she bought from the neighborhood kids selling Sally Foster.

I'm listening to my classical Christmas station on pandora right now, and the Nutcracker's "Dance of the Sugar Plums" just started playing.  Me and my two oldest friends, Madeline and Allison, were in a production of The Nutcracker when we just 4 years old.  Allison could do a cartwheel, so she got to be a mouse.  Madeline and I were less fortunate ( and less coordinated) so we got stuck being cherubs. WHAT A DRAG! Our main job was to run around the stage for about 30 seconds holding a white cloth above our heads, while Allison got to be a mouse gymnast and flip all over the place and wear a cute tail.  But whatever, I'm over it now.  I owned that stage for that 30 seconds.  I remember going to rehearsal downtown with my leotard and ballet shoes in hand, walking into the seemingly endless dance studio with the bars on the wall and huge mirrors.  Our dance teacher was a male ballet dancer, whose name was probably Glen.  Or Pierre. What little I remember of rehearsals was that he was very serious about the art of dance....and I wasn't.  Looking back, this is probably why I didn't get very much stage time.  I remember Madeline and I being more excited about the fact that we got to wear lipstick for the play then actually being in it.  I guess that's always been our style, from the very beginning.  Easily amused and too cool for school.