Signs of the Season

from the mom

Christmas has always been my favorite holiday. It has immense religious significance for me and as I have learned more about the season of Advent I have only grown to love it more.

But even as a child, it was all the things that surrounded Christmas that made it special. It wasn't even the gifts. I remember a few things that I received as a child, but let's face it. Most of us have too much of what we want and have very little need. For me the mystery was always in the other things: driving to see Christmas lights with my Grandpa; the music of Christmas that I performed and watched performed; the smell of my Oma's house on Lombardy Drive when I walked in the door; my Grandma's white-flocked tree with blue lights and bulbs; the visits to the senior center with my cousins to carol and hand out carols; warm fires and smiles. I'm a sucker for the whole thing.

We have chosen to incorporate those things into the season for our children. Kyri is already enamored of the lights and calls out "lights, lights" as we drive by festive houses. Both of the children already have their favorite Christmas music.... Kyri will sing "Away in the Manger" in her sweet little voice and they both like to dance to "Rudolph." Along with our growing Advent nativity, they read a little more of the Christmas story every night and we will have covered it at least three or four times by the time the 25th arrives. Kyri with her precious maternal heart loves "Baby Jesus."

I wanted to take the children to The Nutcracker this year but financial reason and sickness prevailed together (at different times) to cause us to choose a much cheaper Zoo Lights as our special thing of the season.

The waiting, the preparation, the anticipation...is all part of the gift I want my children to treasure for years to come. Some day I hope they will tell me their favorite things about Christmas and I will discover that something I did really did hold the magic for them I hoped for. Because now the magic I treasure is the light in their little faces.