It's 5:18 am and I'd rather be asleep. The only drawback to a late Christmas Eve service...when you have children in the house who still believe in Santa, it makes for an even later night for Santa's helpers. Bed time for this elf was past 2am, and sadly hubby's ongoing recovery from strep has meant a fair amount of snoring. I'm a light sleeper. 'Nuf said.
So, here I sit wondering how soon the first child will make an appearance, and enjoying the temporary quiet. We had a truly delightful Christmas Eve. We attended an early evening Catholic mass, followed by a "fancy" dinner and then a later Presbyterian candlelight service of lessons and carols. While I loved the stage when the kids were younger, I really like now that they are older and we can actually pull off this marathon night with out any one having a meltdown.
And of course once we were home, last minute preparations - carrots. cookies. milk. NINE carrots - 8 reindeer plus Rudolph makes for a lot of beta-carotene. But my son would not be swayed to do it any other way. Really, I tried.
Hmm. Didn't we just get home from an all night celebration of Jesus' birth? Are my kids getting the wrong message about the reason for the season?
I sometimes wonder during the course of December if my kids really "get it". They love our Advent wreath - but is it cause they get to blow out the candles? They love the count down calendars - and also love to fight about whose day it is to change it. I love that they love Christmas Eve services - but is it because they get to stay up so late?? It's a wonderfully narcissisistic world they live in.
Then, there is one of those moments when I rest a bit easier. Like, something my son said on the way to church tonight. I had forced him to spend one hour in his room laying down to relax before the evening activities. Only reading was allowed. My son - who has been keeping a tally of how many presents are under the tree, and who they are for (including shape and size). My son - who apparently spent some of his hour reading from the bible he got for his first communion. He proudly announced in the car that he had finished the book of Genesis..."all 50 chapters, from In the beginning to the death of Joseph."
I don't know why he chose to read his bible when he had so many other choices. My hope is that he needed something to help him calm down, relax and prepare for the events that lay ahead of him that night. And if that is true, then I am not so concerned about the long term effects of the man in the red suit.
...Is that the sound of little feet I hear???.....
