Christmas and blogging do not mix.
OMG! I cannot believe the madness that is my life right now! There's biscotti to make, Christmas programs to attend, Christmas pageants to rehearse (two separate events, mind you), angel dresses to come up with, Santa sale money to scrape together so my kids can buy cheap goods for everyone again this year, wreaths to make, rooms to clean, meals to plan, clutter to clear (we are hosting this year), and lots of presents to buy.
It's not that we go hog wild with gifts, but come on, with five kids, well, do the math. We are about half way through the shopping thing...with ideas and plans for most of the second half. Of course, it always turns wild at the last minute, but I guess I'll just have to figure out a way to ride through it with a smile on my face.
I'm thinking wine.
My oldest, usually an absolute BEAST to his siblings, came up with a beautiful idea tonight. After a particularly ugly ride home from school, and lots of yelling from mama, I had just about decided that my children are downright evil to each other, brutes, demons, just plain mean people.
Sam came to me:
"Mom, you know how everyone isn't being nice to each other? Well we should make a cradle for Jesus, and then we all pick names in secret for each other, and each time you do something nice for the person you picked, you put a piece of straw in the cradle for Jesus, and the more nice stuff we do, the better bed we will make for Jesus. But you don't tell anyone whose name you have, you just do nice things in secret and then add straw to the bed."
Ya coulda knocked me over with one of those pieces of straw.
So anyway, that's what we're doing tonight!
This comes right on the heels of me driving home amidst the meanness and nastiness and thinking for the umpteenth time How do we make this season about Christ and not about getting STUFF? How do we change this into something beautiful, something with a gravitas beyond consumption and consumerism? How, HOW HOW?
Samuel taught me how. So as soon as they finish watching The Polar Express, we'll be making that cradle.
There is hope!
1 comment:
what an awesome idea...way to go Sam! I am in the same boat...stressed about making the holiday less about polly pockets and itunes and more about reflection on what we do have and how grateful we should all be. I feel your pain Monica....siblings can be brutual! Now they are ganging on up on me because I am not into the whole "new puppy" idea (they can take care of the mess our 2 dogs make now...then I'll think about it).
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