Twas the weekend before Christmas...

The countdown is on.  It’s official.  There are now only six days until Christmas.  I had hoped to cross a lot off my list this past weekend but instead, I found myself doing something most unusual – actually enjoying the holiday season. 

It started on Thursday night, at our office Christmas party.   I’m very lucky in that I really like my job and I really like the people I work with -- which I suppose is why I stayed out far too late and opted for that extra glass of wine instead of scurrying home to wrap gifts. 

On Friday night, my husband and I went on a date.  It had been planned for a while and, as you likely know, dates are mission-critical to a good marriage  -- which is mission-critical to raising five (hopefully good!) kids so, although that pile of gifts was still begging to be wrapped, out we went.  

On Saturday, we had not one but TWO local Christmas parties to attend. This may not seem like a big deal to you, but we were off the social circuit for a few years.  I think people just assumed that we wouldn’t be able to leave the house with three newborns and two toddlers in tow– or, worse yet, afraid that we would!  Either way, we spent several Christmas seasons searching the mailbox for invitations that never came.  Now that they have arrived, so too have we; after a brief hiatus, we are back on the social scene and very happy to be there!

The merriment continued on Sunday at our church’s annual pageant; our oldest, seven-year old Liam, was cast as one of the three kings.  Poor Liam had perhaps enjoyed too many Christmas cookies at the aforementioned parties and spent much of late Saturday night and early Sunday morning praying to the porcelain god; the poor fella was so sick that we considered rewriting history and suggesting the pageant go on with only two kings.  But alas, like a Christmas miracle, Liam perked up, popped on his costume and marched down the aisle, bearing those gifts as this weepy Mom was overcome, once again, with emotion.

What is it about children singing Silent Night or Oh Holy Night that starts the tear ducts flowing?  Is it their youthful innocence? Was it the fact that I was surrounded by our other four kids, my parents and grandparents and thinking of just how lucky I am – we are – to have each other this holiday season?  Or was it the knowledge that the clock was ticking and I was now in a race against time to finish wrapping those darn gifts, writing the cards, baking the cookies and planning our Christmas Eve dinner?!

I think the was the former, not the latter.  I think it was the realization that with less than a week before Christmas, I already have what matters most.  Family, friends, yes, even a small suburban social life!

Christmas Reflections

I know that it's New Year's Day and I should be sharing some musings on the year ahead but, since the merriment of the season is still so top of mind, I thought I'd share some thoughts (and pictures!) from our church's recent Christmas Pageant instead...

They often say that art imitates life and our Christmas Pageant was no exception. Liam, at six years old is the oldest of our five “Lyons Cubs”; he played the part of a shepherd and, much like any other day, he was faithfully followed by our four other kids – kids who on this day were dressed as extremely furry little lambs. Needless to say, the sight of my small shepherd leading his flock was priceless. Liam was as earnest as could be as he stood on the altar and mumbled along to the music. Ciara, my four year old lamb, had practiced her hymns at home and proudly belted out the first verse to “Away in A Manger”; the highlights for her were the high notes… as in “the litTLE Lord JeSUS lay down his sweet HEAD!”

While Liam and Ciara seemed to at least partially understand the sanctity of the Pageant, the same can not be said of our trio of two-year olds. Dressed as lambs, they acted a bit more like monkeys -- curious little monkeys -- the kind that like to pick things out of each other’s fur or, in this case, fuzzy lamb’s wool. They were also the kind that like to frolick in the aisle, climb over the pews and make a run for the border.

 With headband ears, socks for paws and a cotton-ball adorned t-shirts for “fur”, the triplet lambs might have stolen the show. Except for that, of course, they were part of a larger flock – each more precious than the next and most attached to a big brother/shepherd in one way or another. The shepherds did a great job of tending to their herd… especially since my little lambs have been known to steal more than the show. Just a few weeks ago, Cormac sauntered up the altar and came back with a $20 from the collection basket; thankfully, our priest (and our parish!) has a sense of humor and while I admit that I was momentarily tempted (all those diapers are expensive!), I did make him return it. Even so, the pattern of lifting things from the altar has been established and the Toys for Tots collection was just too good for my little guys to resist!

All in, I think our five little “Cubs” – now also known as a shepherd and his lambs – learned something from our Christmas pageant. They now know the words to some Christmas carols beyond Jingle Bells and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (which our aforementioned priest is quick to remind us are not actually Christmas carols since there’s no mention of Christ!). They know that however tempting the gifts on the altar may be -- whether they are gold, frankincense and myhrr , a crisp twenty dollar bill, or Toys for Tots -- they are not meant for them. I’d like to think they learned that there really is a “reason for the season” and it’s not Legos or Crayons or Dolls or Choo Choos. It’s something far more important and far more sacred. As Ciara so eloquently put it as we left a Christmas party a few weeks ago, “ so Mom, Jesus gives the presents to Santa and Santa gives them to the children.” Well, little one, it’s something like that.