More and more each year, Christmas is something different. When your children are young, the season is about the magic of Santa Claus – and yes Santa is magical. I STILL believe! And when you’re young, The Nativity is more like a faraway story that gets washed over by the powerful wave of Santa.
Once you’re children are grown and creating the magic of Santa is no longer needed, Christmas can be a let-down and something else is needed. That’s when you have to make it Personal. And with personal, hopefully comes Peace. This year, Piper blessed me with a stress-free alternative. “Mom,” she says to me, “how about we do something really different this year for Christmas?”
“I’m all ears girlfriend”.
“How about, we just do stockings for each other and instead of making ourselves crazy over trying to put something under the tree by Christmas Eve, we wait. We’ll take our money and get something we both really, really want AFTER Christmas – no stress, no hurry hurry or worry worry? Whadduya think?”
What did I think? I thought I wanted to kiss her hand and say “BLESS YOU CHILD!” Instead, I said, “Uh, heck yeah – AWESOME idea, let’s do it!” Our shopping for each other was done quietly and conveniently in pretty much one day. The rest of my time was free. Free to think and observe.
We put our tree up the day after Thanksgiving. And since we didn’t have to worry or feel bad that there weren’t going to be any presents under it, we simply got to enjoy its beauty day after day. Piper even invited friends to come over and see our beautiful tree. She enjoyed telling the stories behind each ornament (it’s a tradition, each year from birth, each child gets a new ornament – Mom gets new ones too). She’d never done this before. Since we weren’t enslaving ourselves to cookie making for money this year, we freed up some time to go to a movie, go for a ride with a friend through neighborhoods decorated with beautiful light displays. We passed a red convertible, top down, grandparents in Santa hats in the front seat, grandchildren in Santa hats in the back seat, singing, laughing, smiling and taking pictures – waving Merry Christmas to everyone they passed. We passed other groups of happy people out doing the same thing, spirits were high and full that night.
We watched our family favorite Christmas movies with our brains fully present and not worrying about shopping or errands I should be running. And in those moments, my mind wandered to my childhood memories of Christmas. I remembered things I hadn’t thought of in years. I thought of my mother and my sister a lot. That was bitter, and at the same time, oh so sweet. When I was out and about, my mind was free to take in all the colors, the lights, the smiles of strangers. I was also free to see those much less fortunate than myself.
There were quiet moments when I thought about the true Christmas story, the Nativity and the birth of Christ. Moments where I questioned in the deepest corners of my heart if I really believed it happened or not. My answer gave me Peace. And then Christmas became personal for me.
Once you’re children are grown and creating the magic of Santa is no longer needed, Christmas can be a let-down and something else is needed. That’s when you have to make it Personal. And with personal, hopefully comes Peace. This year, Piper blessed me with a stress-free alternative. “Mom,” she says to me, “how about we do something really different this year for Christmas?”
“I’m all ears girlfriend”.
“How about, we just do stockings for each other and instead of making ourselves crazy over trying to put something under the tree by Christmas Eve, we wait. We’ll take our money and get something we both really, really want AFTER Christmas – no stress, no hurry hurry or worry worry? Whadduya think?”
What did I think? I thought I wanted to kiss her hand and say “BLESS YOU CHILD!” Instead, I said, “Uh, heck yeah – AWESOME idea, let’s do it!” Our shopping for each other was done quietly and conveniently in pretty much one day. The rest of my time was free. Free to think and observe.
We put our tree up the day after Thanksgiving. And since we didn’t have to worry or feel bad that there weren’t going to be any presents under it, we simply got to enjoy its beauty day after day. Piper even invited friends to come over and see our beautiful tree. She enjoyed telling the stories behind each ornament (it’s a tradition, each year from birth, each child gets a new ornament – Mom gets new ones too). She’d never done this before. Since we weren’t enslaving ourselves to cookie making for money this year, we freed up some time to go to a movie, go for a ride with a friend through neighborhoods decorated with beautiful light displays. We passed a red convertible, top down, grandparents in Santa hats in the front seat, grandchildren in Santa hats in the back seat, singing, laughing, smiling and taking pictures – waving Merry Christmas to everyone they passed. We passed other groups of happy people out doing the same thing, spirits were high and full that night.
We watched our family favorite Christmas movies with our brains fully present and not worrying about shopping or errands I should be running. And in those moments, my mind wandered to my childhood memories of Christmas. I remembered things I hadn’t thought of in years. I thought of my mother and my sister a lot. That was bitter, and at the same time, oh so sweet. When I was out and about, my mind was free to take in all the colors, the lights, the smiles of strangers. I was also free to see those much less fortunate than myself.
There were quiet moments when I thought about the true Christmas story, the Nativity and the birth of Christ. Moments where I questioned in the deepest corners of my heart if I really believed it happened or not. My answer gave me Peace. And then Christmas became personal for me.