Remember the days of anxious anticipation of Christmas gifts? I just read something that reminded me of how I felt about Christmas in my pre-adult years.
It has been tradition in my family to go to my Grandma Chancellor's house to celebrate Christmas on Christmas Eve. There was always a huge pile of gifts when we arrived, and the pile just got larger as more family showed up. We had to eat and dishes had to be done before we could open gifts. Talk about torture. It was hard to shove food down when all I wanted to do was see what was in the packages that had my name. And waiting for dishes to be finished? Excruciating. As I got older, I decided I needed to act more cool about it. After all, it's more blessed to give than to receive, so I shouldn't be so excited about receiving. Deep inside though, I was still a little kid, excited about ripping off wrapping paper to see what was inside. Now that I'm an adult, some of the Christmas anticipation has been overshadowed by adult type activities. Buying, wrapping, decorating, planning, shipping, baking... All of it adds up to being somewhat overwhelmed the closer we get to Christmas. I was reminded a bit of how exciting it all is, though. I like to check the mail and look for the Christmas cards that have been coming from distant family and friends. The UPS guy just knocked on my door, and as soon as I finish this posting, I get to see what has arrived! There is a reason that this is called the "most wonderful time of the year!" Please remember to celebrate the love and family you have around you. Take time to be thankful for the amazing gift God handed to us all of those years ago. And try not to freak out about the fact that somehow 2010 is almost over and time is rushing faster than ever. Merry Christmas (in 18 days!).
18 days!?! Ack!! I'm not ready. I think as an adult, my favorite part (one of my favorite parts) of Christmas is receiving Christmas cards, especially the ones with letters. I ordered my cards on Thanksgiving, and expect to get them, oh about, Christmas eve. They are super slow shipping them when you choose the least expensive option. Oh well. Better late than never. Now I need to get back to sewing or my gifts will be late too. (Well, yours is going to be late anyway, but I don't want to rush through it and do a sloppy job, just to get it in the mail on time.) Miss you girl. Are you sure you can't come for Christmas?!
ReplyDeleteI've been a major grinch for years. I keep saying I don't like the commercialism, I don't like being told I'm "supposed" to give a gift worth x amount to specific people, I don't like waiting until a formal gift giving occasion, and I detest wrapping things.
ReplyDeleteI *LOVE* buying things for others and giving gifts. I love finding that perfect something that just screams someone's name to me. I just don't want to wait until Christmas to give it. ;-)
I do like to receive, but not in volume, if that makes any sense. I enjoy the feeling of sharing something special with someone who is special to me. I enjoy opening a wrapped gift, wondering what's inside.
Mostly, though, I enjoy spending time with people I love. I would rather spend an entire weekend with food and family and friends and fun. However, since my loved ones are stretched across this country (and more!), I have to send cards or gifts or emails to express how I feel.
Having said *all* of that, my grinch-ness is starting to melt a little bit. I am enjoying the decorations I see around and starting to think maybe we would enjoy participating more. I complain about the lack of seasons keeping me sort of guessing about what time of year it is, but that's just a lazy excuse. I can celebrate seasons in my home and in my heart, regardless of what the weather is doing outside.
You're helping to melt the grinch! I'm still not wearing reindeer sweaters, though!!!
xoxo