What a Difference a Week Makes

The snowman wrapping paper
Was waving a cheery hello
One week ago

The tape dispensers were full
The ribbon rolls curling up on themselves
The piled up bags
Became piled up boxes
Gaily wrapped in
Bright reds, greens and sparkles.

But the snow man is waving good-bye now
Delegated to the wrapping paper graveyard
Of leftover scraps-too big to throw away
To small for a whole gift.

The boxes are emptied of their treasures
The trash cans full of ribbon
The tape dispenser is empty but for one small
Strip left-not even enough for a gift.

The pings of electronic gadgetry
The dings of new emails
The click of tapping messages on new phones
Are the only reminder that one week ago
 There were promises and secrets to reveal.
The faint tap, tap, tap of the tree's needles
Counting out the time of the season
Done, once again.

Guess what I got for Christmas?

Do you remember saying that to your friends when you were a kid? It was always followed by something of amazing proportions, so amazing that those you were trying to impress were properly, we'll amazed!

Well, I got something to impress this year. An iPad mini. Yes I asked for one, but I didn't really expect to get one. I'm typing on it even as you read this. Even if my friends aren't amazed, I still am. Our son, the resident expert of things Apple, gave me a tutorial the other night. I think that was worth whatever the price of this little thing. Having mother and son sitting side by side trying out apps and finding the nuances--well the commercial says it--priceless.

One of the most amazing things though was the fact that one of the things in iTunes was this nifty thing which allows a person to "take classes" at one of the colleges offered. I can take a class for free!        This is truly amazing, if I can kill the word one more time. I can log into some big name university or even some small place and take a virtual course! I was so excited by this prospect that I just about cried. What a wonderful thing to be able to do! I've signed onto two courses and began listening and learning already.

So I'm sharing with you what I got this year for Christmas. What did you get?

Christmas Eve Day and Night

The day before Christmas is always a busy one at our house. We put up the tree which has been lodged outside the kitchen window since it's purchase either a week or a few days ago. This entails much muttering, moving furniture, locating boxes in the attic with appropriate lighting and hanging ornaments. There is cooking to be done for the next day, there are presents still to be wrapped, there is conversation and laughter and by the time my head hits the pillow around 1:30 or so, I'm exhausted. But it's a busyness I wouldn't trade for the world. When both children are in residence, their bantering, their earnest conversations that can't happen over the phone, just their presence fills my heart as much as they fill our home. They remember stuff we forget and vice versa (although they usually remember much more than we do!).

But when we go to church on Christmas Eve I am invariably filled with so much more than just their presence. I usually attend church by myself, something that I'm used to and comfortable with for the most part. But when the pew is filled with the family, the wonder and mystery of the night is compounded even if we get there a little late and have to sit in the balcony. And just for a brief hour or so, we sing together, listen to the story of Christmas together, share the peace with the family of the church I've become a part of, and there is nothing that needs to be done or finished or anything! It is a holy night in so many ways. The kids laugh because almost every Christmas Eve, during church, I am filled to the brim with so much emotion that invariably I shed a few tears. Sometimes they are tears of tiredness, but many times its just the pure joy of the night and it's meaning and being surrounded by the family of blood and the family of faith all in one place together.

I hope your Christmas is blessed and joyous and filled with busyness, love and laughter. Because that's why we have the season after all, because He wanted to bless us with his presence.

Merry Christmas!