Holiday Related Thoughts

Thanksgiving

I enjoyed seeing pictures of everyone's beautiful Thanksgiving meals and family gatherings this weekend, but I'm wondering if there were any who had a weekend more like ours:  perfectly nice, but not the kind of thing you take a picture of and post on Facebook.  Here's how our weekend went:  Kenny and I started discussing what our Thanksgiving plans should be on Wednesday (as in, the day before).  We decided to forego cooking a giant meal for just the two of us and instead to dine at a restaurant.  We chose the restaurant by cruising around on Thanksgiving afternoon and seeing what was open and kid-friendly.  Our first choice was Golden Corral, but let me tell you, the mob scene we saw there makes the mob scene at Walmart on Black Friday look like small potatoes.  So we kept going until we decided on IHOP.  Kenny got the traditional Thanksgiving plate; I got pancakes and eggs.  Our kids each got an orange juice and each managed to drink more than they spilled, so that was a victory.  After the meal, we decided to check out the Brown Thursday shopping that we had seen so much protesting about, but alas, nothing was open yet at 4 pm.  Apparently the protesting was in regards to stores opening at 8 pm or later, which to me seems to be very similar to stores opening at 12 am on Black Friday, except more convenient for everyone involved.  But I digress.  We went home, got the kids to bed, and then I baked a pumpkin pie to try to give the end of the day a down-home touch.  Kenny and I enjoyed the dessert, and we enjoyed our non-traditional Thanksgiving.  Though we missed our families on this day, as we do on most other days of the year when we're not together, it was actually really nice to keep things low-key.

Lest anyone feel sorry for us after reading this account -- there is still much celebrating to be done this holiday season.  We will be visiting Kenny's family in Reno from mid-December through early January, where we will enjoy humongous and delicious meals, lots of laughs, and family togetherness for Christmas and the New Year.  I just wanted to share our Thanksgiving story because with Facebook, it's easy to feel like you're the only one who didn't cook a meal worthy of being pictured in a magazine, or who didn't gather with a group of 20, or who didn't celebrate in a completely traditional way -- there are many of us out there, probably more than you think.  (And to those of you who did work your tails off to cook a huge meal and host a big group, big props to you - that's a ton of work and if I had done it, you better believe I'd be posting it on Facebook.)


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Advent Season

I missed the last few weeks of church due to sickness that passed from family member to family member (and which finally seems to be leaving our house, hurrah!), so it was *really* nice to be able to attend church for the first week of Advent.  I've always enjoyed the Christmas season, but it's taken on a much deeper meaning for me since Joshua was born and I've felt new levels of worry and sorrow with some of his medical situations.  He's doing well overall now, but going through an experience of suffering really opened my eyes to the suffering in the world - what it really feels like to hurt, and how desperately you need something bigger than yourself to get you through times of despair.

It's so easy, this time of year, to get distracted with errands and silly controversies.  I've spent lots of time thinking about who to get Christmas presents for, and what to get, and why can't I be one of these people who makes cool homemade creations that are both affordable and thoughtful.  I've formed opinions on the great debates of the season:  when should Christmas music start being played; is Black Friday awesome or terrible; should the Christmas tree be artificial or real; to Elf on the Shelf or not to Elf; etc.  I've spent too much time focused on the wrong things.  So that's why it was good to finally get back to church.  It clears my head of all the distractions and reminds me of the true beauty and hope that we celebrate at Christmas:  that by being born, and ultimately through His death and resurrection, Christ brings hope into a despairing world burdened by sin and sickness and sadness.