Our Christmas, the story, 2012.
Looking back at the past month plus that was our Christmas season, I have never been so engaged and aware of each blissful moment in it's passing. Ever so aware of the stuff we have done "every year" and how different each year has been as a marker of how quickly time is passing. It has been a week of pure bliss, not without out total chaos and at times stress, but bliss nonetheless.
On Christmas Eve, Josh had to work probably for the first Christmas eve ever (and hopefully the last), so it was up to Mama to finish all the last minute preparations. Lucas and I made the cinnamon roll dough (we call it adding the love when we knead the dough by hand.....Just as Nanny might have said). We took Trevor out for some last minute Christmas shopping (he's training to be a man), and then showered, curled hair and got ready for Church. All the kids at church decided they were going to put on their own pageant this year complete with lines. It was the first year that Breanna participated and marched right up in front with her angel costume :) We headed straight home to our carpet picnic, opening of three small gifts (PJS a book and an ornament) and then settled in by the fire to watch the Polar Express. Boy, will I be sad when the littlest child gives up those Christmas Jammies They all went right to bed and the grownups made it through most of Christmas Vacation before falling asleep.
Christmas Morning: Insert Many excited faces jumping into my bed.
Trevor: Mom, I could't sleep last night because I was too excited
Me: excited about what?
Trevor: Christmas
Me" What about Christmas?
Trevor: everything.
We commenced in the gift opening, with a slight pause and distraction to slip the gifts under that we had forgotten in a drawer the night before and our eggs.grits and sausage breakfast. We learned sometime that morning that Kevin and the cousins would not be joining us for dinner, as he had three sick kids and a broken fridge to tend to. My heart broke for him in his year of many struggles, transitions and new beginnings:(
After each gift was opened, each family remember retreats to their corner with something they want to discover or play or build. I Love that. Josh usually starts the dinner, the Beef Wellington feast at this point, and I get ready to go out for a Christmas run. It is usually short and sweet, and in a softly falling snow, and I come back refreshed and revived. The afternoon brought grandparents, more gifts, more love, helping and game playing that lasted into the night and through the next day (Josh is 0-4 against my Dad in chess). There was much skyping and face- timing to family that couldn't be near. The meal was made and eaten and cleaned up. There was much talk of politics and sadness about what is wrong with this world. There was laughter over the fact that Lucas said after we told him he could have 10 minutes on his iPod, he said, "Great, that's like 600 seconds."
Now, that's what they are.....all great memories filed away of this great life of ours. The house is now newly tidy with only half of Christmas still remaining (those lights may stay up year round), and lists are made of what we need to remember to do for next year.. Sad that it's over, yes, but I remind the little one's in our midst that there is so much we do to celebrate the every day that we always have some new ritual or tradition in our family life to look forward to. that the rest of this week we'll be reading and playing and watching the snaow fall. We'll never remember exactly what we got, but what we will remember is how we felt. And what we felt was Joy and Love. Life is good.
1 comment:
That was awesome.... we loved every minute that we could spend together.
Post a Comment