December. The month of JOY. JOY to the world.
Good tidings of great JOY!
Unless you are a mom. December is filled with activities, events, decorating, messes, budget issues, shopping, crowds, hyper kids, weather problems, and a huge list of things that you SHOULD feel joyful about but instead, you dread.
I, for one, really hate decorating my tree. For years I worked for a corporation that operated a beautiful inn and 4 incredible restaurants and numerous banquet facilities. They were decorated to the hilt. All were located in historic buildings so many of the trees had perfectly curled ribbons instead of tinsel; thousands of white sparkling lights instead of multi-colored pink, orange, purple and blue (whoever decided those were the colors of Christmas lights is permanently on my naughty list) lights that blink - usually half the tree turning dark at a time; lace ornaments instead of ones made of glitter, posterboard and pasta. And I bought into it. I loved those trees and I vowed that when I had a home of my own, I would have a pretty tree. And for a year or so, I did. Then we had kids. And nothing on my tree matched. In one of our homes that we've lived in, we had a family room AND a living room - so I bought another tree. And all the trimmings. It was beautiful - everyone commented on it. I was so proud of my tree. Then we moved. We only have one room now for a tree. And it is back to being mismatched. My hubby loves colored lights. I like white. So decorating the tree has become a time of compromise, not of joy. I literally let my hubby and my kids do it by themselves. There is not a lot of JOY in my heart during tree decorating time. I set up my little Christmas village and my collection of nativities and grumble about the huge tote of elegant decorations that will not be used again this year.
Then, there is THE list.
That list of everything I am supposed to do at Christmas time.
Make, bake and decorate sugar cookies with my kids. Make gingerbread houses with my kids. Read a different Christmas story each night with my kids. Make sure they know every aspect of the Christmas story so that they do not confuse Christmas Wise Men with the Wise Man who built his house upon a rock. Do a daily service as a family. Do a daily service as an individual. Go caroling. Make homemade chocolates, fudge, caramels etc for all the neighbors (which in our small town, pretty much includes everyone). Make homemade meaningful gifts for my husband's co-workers and all of my children's teachers and bus drivers. Take Christmas pictures, make scrapbook worthy Christmas cards, write a Christmas letter and send it to every single person in both sides our extended family plus everyone we may have ever spoken to over the sixteen years we've been married. Attend Messiah sing-alongs, multiple Christmas concerts, and at least one performance of Dickens' Christmas Carol and the Nut Cracker. Make fruit baskets for the widows. Go to every single Christmas party we are invited to, wearing a fabulous, new outfit to each one and bring a gourmet dish to each. Volunteer at the homeless shelter. Organize a canned food drive. Shop for perfect gifts for everyone on my list while sticking to my budget. Visit all family members, spending the exact amount of time with each so no one is offended. Go see Christmas lights in several different cities. Donate to every charity that needs money. AND keep up on the laundry, house cleaning, cooking balanced healthy meals for my family. Oh, yeah, and by the way, I am supposed to feel JOY during this whole process.
Not gonna happen. All that I am going to feel is stress and guilt. I'm not thinking that is why we celebrate Christmas.
The first Christmas was quiet. Simple. A few songs were sung by some angels and probably a lullaby or two by a young scared mother. The only light came from a magnificent star and possibly a candle or a lantern in a small cozy stable. The little family feasted upon something like bread, goat cheese and probably dried figs or fruit. Visits were made without a thought of time, but instead of soaking in the magic of the moment. Decorations were piles of straw, hay and some rough hewn mangers. Gifts were given, out of the pure happiness of giving. And ultimately, the greatest gift was given simply of out LOVE.
JOY to the world. Good tidings of great JOY.
I don't know how I am going to avoid the dreaded list this Christmas. I know that it will be shortened though. And I'll be doing the things on my list out of the desire to do them, not the motivation of avoiding the guilt that comes by NOT doing them. I want to do things the Christmas season to bring JOY to my heart and the hearts of others that I love. If it means that I only make a small batch of fudge for my family and just make or even buy something tiny for the neighbors, so be it. If it means that my traditional Christmas letter becomes a New Years letter and doesn't even include a fancy picture, so be it. If it means that the only book we read this year is the story of Christ's birth in the Bible, so be it.
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