One of the greatest joys of being a father has been the chance to tip-toe into the glow of my children's faces as they turn on the Christmas lights each morning over these Advent days. Pink fingers comb back static hair and chipping toenail polish peeks out from beneath fairy nightgowns. They giggle with a combination of delight and accomplishment. “This is the true meaning of Christmas, Charlie Brown,” I think to myself. Unlike us, they seem to live with that glow not just on Christmas morning but everyday whether swinging on the swings or uncapping their favorite Sharpie or even flushing the toilet. Their secret, which we adults seem to miss, is that they look with this same Christmas wonder at a pile of fallen leaves or a shiny pair of orange-handled scissors.
We are the ones who have skillfully divided life into pleasures and chores. For adults, wonder is stingily rationed to a few greeting card moments each year when we slow our minds long enough to really appreciate the unnoticed gifts that flood our lives each day. Perhaps, children know better the sacredness of each moment, perhaps because they haven’t yet learned that there is an alternative.
They know that December 26 is as exciting and filled with possibility as the day before. It’s the day our children will toss aside Christmas presents only to play with the cardboard boxes that contained them a day before. It’s the day when they will dance the limbo with all the used ribbons tied together. It’s the day when they will plead to devour stale Christmas cookies for breakfast. It’s the day when we will all jump in bed together and have a WWF wrestling match until daddy hurts himself. It’s the day when they will go into the craft closet and find another blank page on which they will draw their lives--one rainbow and one flower at a time. It’s the day when their sleepy footsteps will stumble downstairs and stand before a tree to rival its lights with their glowing eyes.
We wish you bright eyes, wide hearts, and the wonder of ordinary things this year. May you enjoy the December 26ths of your life with the same richness and sacredness that fill your Christmas morning.
Advent Blessings,
Brandon, Susan, Sophia, and Ellie Nappi
