God rest ye merry, gentlemen
Let nothing you dismay
Remember, Christ, our Saviour
Was born on Christmas day
To save us all from Satan’s power
When we were gone astray
O tidings of comfort and joy,
Comfort and joy
O tidings of comfort and joy
Guess what I did to celebrate Christmas last night?
I slept for nine hours. That’s right, nine. With three out of five family members sniffling and coughing, I’m downing water and vitamin C and getting some rest.
That’s possible right now more than at any other time in the month. I call this time, around the 10th or so of December, The Big Phew.
Right now it’s as common as “how are you,” folks asking folks, “Are you ready for Christmas?” What that translates to is, “Have you shopped for everyone on your list, or are you one of the suckers who still has to face the mall?”
Whether you’ve bought for everyone or not is not a measure of whether you’re ready for Christmas. Everyone has different shopping styles. Some people, like my husband, need the last-minute pressure. I guess he falls into the “not” ready for Christmas category. I need to formulate a flip answer to this question, like, “Yes, in fact, I feel peaceful and prepared to welcome Emmanuel. My heart is bursting with joy.” But that would make people hate me. I guess the other answer, “Yes, I’ve finished my shopping” might do the same.
Honestly, I love The Big Phew. There’s still lots of going and doing and baking and wrapping to be done, but the decorating is done (although I’ll haul in more fresh holly and greens later on), and we’ve had some time to breathe. This week I have time to pour myself into others, however God leads. Tomorrow I’ll have the honor of lunching with an 87-year-old. And we’ve got time to entertain angels, to bless the poor, to really get down to the Christmas nitty-gritty. And have loads of fun, too.
I’m resisting the temptation to add to this week, to over-schedule and overdo. I’m determined not to. Because next week is the last week of school, and if you’re a mom you know there’s no relief in that. Mid-terms, school parties and concerts, teacher gifts—it makes me tired just thinking about it.
Maybe I need a nap.