Nobody's Perfect
. . . as I was reminded this tonight. I'm a planner. I don't know if it is because I'm a Capricorn, but I just like having a rough idea of what is to happen so that I can be prepared. That is why I had a plan for C
hristmas Eve. I thought we could spend the morning cleaning up the rental because we were having guests arriving that afternoon. Then we could take the boys to 4 pm mass because that is when they have the children's nativity pageant. My parents would arrive for dinner around 5:30, we'd eat, get the kids calmed down for bed, and then we could have an early night ourselves enjoying the soft twinkle of the Christmas lights, some adult conversation, and an early bedtime. No such luck! There is no perfect plan, just as there is no perfect Christmas
. When Mary and Joseph traveled to Bethlehem for the census, there was nothing perfect about there journey. It was long and tiring, Mary was extremely pregnant, and when they arrived she went into labor having to deliver her child among smelly animals in a barn, with no assistance but that of a very frightened young man who swore to protect her. And yet, out of all that struggle came a perfect moment - the birth of our savior and the reason we celebrate this season
. Needless to say, we didn't make it to the 4 pm Mass. I had the boys in the bathtub at 3 pm and then was trying to get them dressed with very little cooperation. At about 3:30, I realized that my efforts were futile. There was no way we would make it to Mass and even if we did, we'd be standing in the back. Something about standing for over an hour with a 4 year old and a 1 year old in the ba
ck of a crowded church was not how I wanted to spend our Christmas Eve. No thanks! So after a minor breakdown, Steve helped me to realize that this Christmas would still be perfect, that it was all in our attitude. What an amazing piece of advice. The minute I realized I couldn't do it all, I felt totally relieved and completely at peace. I called my parents and told them that they could come to our place at any time. They arrived
an hour later and we had a wonderful Christmas Eve at our house. We ate filet mignon, the last of our garden harvested carrots, and boiled parsley potatoes. We honored Jesus's birthday with red velvet birthday cake for dessert. And as a special treat, Steve and I were able to attend the 10pm "midnight" mass at our church, child-free, after putting the kids to bed. We still read "Twas the Night Before Christmas." We still hung our stockings by the fire. And we still left out cookies and milk for the big man in the red suit. And I even got my quiet time by the lighted Christmas tree after church before heading off to dream visions of sugar plums. For our first Christmas Eve at home, I would have to say, it was just perfect.
hristmas Eve. I thought we could spend the morning cleaning up the rental because we were having guests arriving that afternoon. Then we could take the boys to 4 pm mass because that is when they have the children's nativity pageant. My parents would arrive for dinner around 5:30, we'd eat, get the kids calmed down for bed, and then we could have an early night ourselves enjoying the soft twinkle of the Christmas lights, some adult conversation, and an early bedtime. No such luck! There is no perfect plan, just as there is no perfect Christmas
. When Mary and Joseph traveled to Bethlehem for the census, there was nothing perfect about there journey. It was long and tiring, Mary was extremely pregnant, and when they arrived she went into labor having to deliver her child among smelly animals in a barn, with no assistance but that of a very frightened young man who swore to protect her. And yet, out of all that struggle came a perfect moment - the birth of our savior and the reason we celebrate this season
. Needless to say, we didn't make it to the 4 pm Mass. I had the boys in the bathtub at 3 pm and then was trying to get them dressed with very little cooperation. At about 3:30, I realized that my efforts were futile. There was no way we would make it to Mass and even if we did, we'd be standing in the back. Something about standing for over an hour with a 4 year old and a 1 year old in the ba
ck of a crowded church was not how I wanted to spend our Christmas Eve. No thanks! So after a minor breakdown, Steve helped me to realize that this Christmas would still be perfect, that it was all in our attitude. What an amazing piece of advice. The minute I realized I couldn't do it all, I felt totally relieved and completely at peace. I called my parents and told them that they could come to our place at any time. They arrived
an hour later and we had a wonderful Christmas Eve at our house. We ate filet mignon, the last of our garden harvested carrots, and boiled parsley potatoes. We honored Jesus's birthday with red velvet birthday cake for dessert. And as a special treat, Steve and I were able to attend the 10pm "midnight" mass at our church, child-free, after putting the kids to bed. We still read "Twas the Night Before Christmas." We still hung our stockings by the fire. And we still left out cookies and milk for the big man in the red suit. And I even got my quiet time by the lighted Christmas tree after church before heading off to dream visions of sugar plums. For our first Christmas Eve at home, I would have to say, it was just perfect.
No comments:
Post a Comment