A tree in our neighborhood. For 11 months of the year, it is ugly. But in December?
You might think that this post is a tad premature, but there is a reason: I want to celebrate Christ's birth, listen to music, decorate with every bulb and garland I can find, and remember every Christmas possible. Christmas cannot wait and neither can I.
Photo taken from our hotel balcony on December 4, 2016 in Chicago
Waiting for Christmas is and has always been the most intense, insane experience of anticipation of all the year.
Standing in front of the tree and being mesmerized by the lights is the disco ball of the season. Shaking the presents and guessing their contents is always be part of the game. The small train around the base wears itself out by the Big Day, only too happy to be packed away for next year’s new batteries and another chance to whistle.
(That was a few years ago, when I turned 60 years old. Then my granddaughters informed me then that I have to move away from the tree. It was their time to do the dancing.)
That leaves me with the other delights: baking some, fixing meals, cuddling a baby, and moving furniture around to accommodate our grandson Benjamin and his almost 1 year old baby brother James. (:()
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| James at 6 months, June 22, 2017 |
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| Benjamin's 5th birthday, June 26, 2017 |
Christmas starts as a spark of joy, and then fills me all up. Christmas is here! Christ came into the world as a human, to experience the human pain and suffering. Christ was crucified, resurrected, and ascended into heaven. Christ dwells within me daily, reminding me that I am part of His family.
I am waiting for Christmas, slightly removed from the tree’s perimeter to allow tween girls and a five year-old in pajamas to enter into the thrall of the tree.
The spark is there and starting to burst into the “Hallelujah Chorus”!
From YouTube
Do you get that spark? Are the memories of Christmas both looking back and being in the present? Are you still dancing? Do you have to push the kids and grandkids out of the way?
This a re-post of 2010. I liked it, and juggled some words about to post it again.
This post was five years ago and now our babies are now teenagers with braces. Baby Benjamin is now 5.5 years old (the 1/2 is very important to him). His brother James/Jaimie is 11 months old, with 3 teeth.
This 2017 and all our own babies and theirs will be here, gathered around our tree. We'll laugh, listen to Christmas songs, and rejoice that we get to share one more Christmas together.
Why is this post going up in early November, you may ask. Last Christmas my husband's family went on a cruise because Mom Kane had died in February and none of us wanted to be home, without her.
It wasn't Christmas for any of us, we acknowledged it then and now. This year we will be together, without her physically, but with her love.
So, while my kids will be here for a short time in December and not on Christmas Day, we will dance up a storm.
This a re-post of 2010. I liked it, and juggled some words about to post it again.
This post was five years ago and now our babies are now teenagers with braces. Baby Benjamin is now 5.5 years old (the 1/2 is very important to him). His brother James/Jaimie is 11 months old, with 3 teeth.
This 2017 and all our own babies and theirs will be here, gathered around our tree. We'll laugh, listen to Christmas songs, and rejoice that we get to share one more Christmas together.
Why is this post going up in early November, you may ask. Last Christmas my husband's family went on a cruise because Mom Kane had died in February and none of us wanted to be home, without her.
It wasn't Christmas for any of us, we acknowledged it then and now. This year we will be together, without her physically, but with her love.
So, while my kids will be here for a short time in December and not on Christmas Day, we will dance up a storm.
