I'm guilty. I lost the true meaning of Christmas sometime last week. I am buried in a pile of to-do's and my mouth is stuck in a perpetual, painful grimace.
I called Steve at 5:15, and asked if he was leaving work soon. He always leaves around 5:15 these days so I'm not sure why I call. Sure enough, he said he'd wrap up and leave, but I sensed that he had much more he would have liked to finish. So I told him to stay and just get some work done. I would get the kids to bed early.
This year, I am doing a Christmas book advent with the kids, an idea I got from my friend, Eliza. Tonight, the book they unwrapped was Who is Coming to Our House? by Joseph Slate.
It's the story of stable animals preparing their home to welcome some special guests. They clear the floor, dust the beams, sweep the earth, and stack the hay. The spider spins new webs, the goose lines the crib with eider, the hen lays an egg, and the peacock spreads its tail. We all loved the book so much that I read it to them again, with Stephen repeating after me.
The rhythm of the verse feels very busy and very much like my long to-do list. It actually gave me quite a lot of comfort, reminding me that all of my busyness is not for nothing. The animals, however, did seem much more cheerful in their service than I do presently.
After Mi Na went to bed, I went to work with Mei Li and Stephen cleaning up the explosion of toys in the basement. We were only about halfway through when we all just quit cleaning. It was Stephen's bed time and I was exhausted. So I put Stephen to bed.
I started addressing Christmas cards, not wanting to finish what we started in the basement. Mei Li came up to me and told me she had a surprise for me. She took me to the basement, which was sparkling clean once again.
I felt immediately like a huge burden had been lifted. I wept and hugged Mei Li. I couldn't stop thanking my sweet daughter for serving me that way. Honestly, why would she do that for such a grumpy mother? I certainly wouldn't have done it. Clearly, my daughter is a much better human being than I am.
So, I still have a ton of stuff to do, but I have renewed strength. I do believe that by Christmas day, we will be ready to say, as the stable animals did to Mary, Joseph, and Jesus, "welcome, welcome to our house!"
I called Steve at 5:15, and asked if he was leaving work soon. He always leaves around 5:15 these days so I'm not sure why I call. Sure enough, he said he'd wrap up and leave, but I sensed that he had much more he would have liked to finish. So I told him to stay and just get some work done. I would get the kids to bed early.
This year, I am doing a Christmas book advent with the kids, an idea I got from my friend, Eliza. Tonight, the book they unwrapped was Who is Coming to Our House? by Joseph Slate.
It's the story of stable animals preparing their home to welcome some special guests. They clear the floor, dust the beams, sweep the earth, and stack the hay. The spider spins new webs, the goose lines the crib with eider, the hen lays an egg, and the peacock spreads its tail. We all loved the book so much that I read it to them again, with Stephen repeating after me.
The rhythm of the verse feels very busy and very much like my long to-do list. It actually gave me quite a lot of comfort, reminding me that all of my busyness is not for nothing. The animals, however, did seem much more cheerful in their service than I do presently.
After Mi Na went to bed, I went to work with Mei Li and Stephen cleaning up the explosion of toys in the basement. We were only about halfway through when we all just quit cleaning. It was Stephen's bed time and I was exhausted. So I put Stephen to bed.
I started addressing Christmas cards, not wanting to finish what we started in the basement. Mei Li came up to me and told me she had a surprise for me. She took me to the basement, which was sparkling clean once again.
I felt immediately like a huge burden had been lifted. I wept and hugged Mei Li. I couldn't stop thanking my sweet daughter for serving me that way. Honestly, why would she do that for such a grumpy mother? I certainly wouldn't have done it. Clearly, my daughter is a much better human being than I am.
So, I still have a ton of stuff to do, but I have renewed strength. I do believe that by Christmas day, we will be ready to say, as the stable animals did to Mary, Joseph, and Jesus, "welcome, welcome to our house!"
2 comments:
Ie Li,
Mae Li was just copying her mother. Hadn't you just been of service to Steve when you said he could stay and finish his work at the office while you took care of the work at home?
Kids learn by example and you are a good one everyday.
Love, Grandma Z
So sweet!!
I love Who Is Coming to Our House? too and the last line is my favorite. Although I also love "Someone's coming from afar." when you start to see Mary and Joseph getting closer.
Are you loving the advent basket?! This is the first year I have done it with my kids and it is even more fun for me now than it was when I was a kid! :)
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