Enjoying Christmas
Christmas and enjoyment have not always been compatible for me.
This year I was determined not to fall into the trap of Christmas doldrums! I needed to find a new way of looking at the holiday season, one that wasn’t filled with anxiety over buying and wrapping perfect gifts, producing delectable feasts, arranging dates to help everyone get where they wanted to be, fretting over UN-accommodating weather, and, not least, turning my heart to the true meaning of Christmas.
2016 helped me find that change of attitude in two very different ways.
The Eyes of a Child
I became a grandmother for the first time this year. With a ten month old granddaughter at my house and then at hers, I was treated to the joy of Christmas through the eyes of a child.
A jingling bell off the Christmas tree. A long stocking with things inside of it for her. A stuffed Rudolf toy. Mashed potatoes and pumpkin pie with whipped cream. Lights on a Christmas tree (inside and outside). Carols with a piano and all of us singing. Candles lit on a dining table. Ripping wrapping paper. Grandma singing “The Friendly Beasts” while showing her the pictures in the book.
I felt her joy and wonder touch me as well, just by sharing these new things with her.
The Eyes of One Who is Leaving
This year also brought with it the sicknesses and deaths of some good friends. Much harder, but seeing Christmas through the eyes of someone who might be seeing it for the last time was very meaningful.
All of the things mentioned above have a beauty that can’t be denied if seen as a dear memory to take with them when they depart. People most value memories of loved ones gathered experiencing all of these things together.
Christmases of the past. Carols in another language. Sledding in the cold with siblings, perhaps pulled by parents. Church services with candles. Memories of people long gone but not forgotten with whom we shared previous Christmases.
Christmas is a gift to all of us, a time of belonging and love. May our hearts always feel it!