In Advent of Advent-- Christmas Preparations and the Gift of Patience

It's strange to have this five-day stretch of time to use as I need/would like to. For once, I did not make a bunch of research papers or other pressing essays due for the Thanksgiving break--and I am thankful for my prescience (or just sheer dumb luck?)-- I am getting things done, but I'm not frazzled. And this being the "early" Thanksgiving, I feel like I've been gifted an extra week before the rush and chaos of getting things ready for Christmas. 

Not that I overdo Christmas stuff anymore-- yes, I used to, and I was always purely exhausted, and couldn't really enjoy the season. I've pared things way down, trust me. I putter away at house decorations, and there are not that many of them, comparatively. The lights outside are all solar, and have been up for a couple weeks. The bits and bobs I put around the house are easily done-- and, as of yesterday, most of it is done. I don't put out dozens of snowmen, nutcrackers, and other small things anymore. Just a few, and those are seasonal, not just Christmassy. 

The one thing I do go all-out for, besides the real tree (which will, I think, go up December 10), is our nativity scene. My father built the creche for us, and my parents gave us the "starter set" (Mary, Joseph, Baby Jesus, and the Gloria angel) for our first Christmas as a married couple. We've added at least one piece per year since-- thus, we have an entire village scene going. The pieces are five-inch Fontanini pieces, all in the "patina" coloring. We have all sorts of animals, a few extra buildings, and villagers, angels, and so on. There's even a little light-up campfire. I'm running out of room for all the pieces! 

We don't do "Elf on the Shelf" in this house (it's cute, but not my schtick). Over the last couple of years, I've been doing something much more meaningful: we move the Wise Men weekly, ever closer to the manger scene. I read about that online, and I wish I'd known about the idea years ago when Meg was little. That said, we will do that, starting next weekend, the first Sunday of Advent. And of course, Baby Jesus is hidden until Christmas Eve! We used to come home from Midnight Mass and place him in the manger before going to bed. I don't think we'll be at Midnight Mass this year, as Holly is too little. But I think she's old enough  (she is a precocious two) to put Baby Jesus to bed. 

Christmas is my favorite holiday--it is the birth of hope, over and over again. For me, it's not the decorations, the cookies, the presents--the Presence is what draws me in. 

So, amid all the bustle and preparation, take a moment to look up and take a deep breath. Re-center yourself. The world is a messy, strife-filled place-- always has been, but we now have the "news" in real time, and it's very stressful. Our own lives are a muddle, most of the time, or so it seems. There's always something we have to react to. I know I get caught up in the mess of it all, and I don't always handle the chaos well. We can give each other a real gift, today and every day, especially in this Season of Grace-- patience. I'm going to try extra hard to "practice the pause" a whole lot more. Treat each other with gentleness--there's a lot of pain and confusion that people are managing, and we don't always know what's going on behind the smile or tears, right? 

Have a peaceful day, my friends.

C