This morning I got a little sad because I felt a twinge of "where did Christmas go?" When the stores start putting out Christmas paraphernalia before Thanksgiving, it seems like they are pushing Christmas on me way too fast. But here I am on December 30th wondering where I was during all of it and did I soak it all in.
Did I take time to reflect and celebrate Christ during this time? Did I teach my son the meaning of Christmas admits all the chaos? Did I stress out too much over getting all the perfect gifts, and planning to "have fun" with our guests? Will I ever have the perfect Christmas where have all my shopping done before Dec. 1, host the perfect festivities for family, and still have time to enjoy the season. Probably not.
Instead of worrying about all that I did or didn’t do this season, I will store away in my memory these few things…
- My children in their matching Christmas pajamas sitting on their Uncle Max’s lap
- Elijah’s excitement over his "t-wex" from Santa, his "maiw box" and "twain table" from Grammy and Choo Choo, his "twuck" from Uncle Max, and his "twicycle and hewmet" from DeeDee and Pa along with the many other great things he received.
- I will be so grateful that my in-laws and my parents came to my house so that I did not have listen to my kids scream in the car as we traveled all over the state of South Carolina
- My perfect Christmas present from my husband: a trip to a hotel near my favorite mall and my favorite restaurant in Charlotte. 24 hours of pure joy that included a jacuzzi tub, appetizer, entree, and dessert for dinner, 11 hours of uninterrupted sleep (yes, 11!), a trip to the mall and lunch without a stroller, and my husband’s uninterrupted attention (a special thanks to Nicole for spending the night here with our kids!).
- A Christmas service at Elevation that was unbelievable, my boys in their matching Inspi(red) shirts, my husband in the most blinging pastor outfit in history and a new outfit for myself too.
I hope that as the Christmases go by over the next several years, I will keep in mind that creating memories is more important than "perfection" and peacefulness and togetherness is more important than stuff.
Hope you had a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.