Well, it's over. Today, when I hit the button for it in the car, 106.7 was playing "Everything I Do, I Do It For You" by Bryan Adams, followed by UB40's "Red, Red Wine." (Not that I wasn't really happy for BOTH of those songs.) Gone was the constant rotation of holiday tunes. The Christmas tree will be down by tomorrow afternoon. The house must be re-organized to fit the new stuff. The kids must re-learn most of their manners. Frisbee, our Christmas Elf, has left for his 11-month vacay. (Must be nice.) Yes, Christmas has left us, and I'm sad to see it go. This was a good one. A busy one, but a good one. We were all excited for it from the start of the season, maybe from even before then.
For some reason, this year more than others, I've been keenly aware of how good we have it. I've seen how unfortunate a great many people are, how many folks are struggling, just struggling, every day, and it's made me a lot more grateful for my life. Maybe it has to do with the fact that we had our share of heartbreak this year...Matt's Grandma Kelley and Grandpa Wood both bid us farewell, and we had our worries with our precious little girl, among other things...maybe that helped put into perspective some values that I had mixed up in previous years. Whatever the case may be, I've sincerely tried to relish the time this holiday, and, I think, doing that made it so wonderful.
It wasn't about the gifts, either...I could have done away with those, but the kids have so much fun opening them, and, to be honest, I love seeing the looks on their little faces as they tear apart the wrapping paper. Mainly for me, it was the time we had with each other. Our family and friends. Seeing people happy and healthy and simply enjoying life and being together...that's what made this Christmas so great.
The weekend before Christmas, we were in Raleigh for Matt's cousin's wedding, and most of his Wood relatives were there. The wedding and reception were perfect, but the smiles and warmth from family members were something for the record books; everyone was so content and genuinely excited to be together. Back at home, the kids had play dates with friends to make gingerbread houses and cookies, to just enjoy time away from the constant seriousness of school days and to get back to the business of being children. (Couldn't we all use a lesson in that?) And, there was the annual Christmas party at my dear friends' house, which never fails to let the good times roll.
Christmas Eve and the big day were given back to family time. We spent the day and night at my parents' house (per my dad's request). We ate lasagna and went to church and read 'Twas the Night Before Christmas and wrapped presents after my little loves fell asleep. We woke up early on Christmas morning...Kent wins the award for 4 am (but that guy had to go back to sleep), and opened gifts in two sessions so we could take a break to eat some of the best biscuits and gravy my parents' house has ever seen, and my mom even cooked them! Ha!
It was during that break where my sweet 4-year-old little boy spoke the words that captured my feelings for the time that we have together. We were laying on the kitchen floor...weird, I know, but it was his idea...our heads on his and Ella's new pillow pets, our family milling around us, and he grabbed my face with his little hands and his learning, peaceful little eyes stared straight into mine, and he said, "Let's just stay here forever." And, oh, if I could have, I would have. Held that moment right there, with my family around, in the comfort of our jammies and the contentment of simply being right there and realizing how utterly, perfectly perfect that was.
But, I think that's how I feel about this time in my life. It's moving past so quickly; even the time from Thanksgiving to Christmas felt shorter than the blink of an eye. The more I appreciate it, the faster it goes. Knowing how fragile life and stability and constant joy are, knowing how impermanent life is makes me consider how much I need to enjoy just right now, how lucky I am to live in just right now, and that helped make Christmas so special. It's what makes every single day.
It wasn't about the gifts, either...I could have done away with those, but the kids have so much fun opening them, and, to be honest, I love seeing the looks on their little faces as they tear apart the wrapping paper. Mainly for me, it was the time we had with each other. Our family and friends. Seeing people happy and healthy and simply enjoying life and being together...that's what made this Christmas so great.
No comments:
Post a Comment