Today is my daughter’s last day of school until 2007. You remember that feeling – the release and the relief of the break. You didn’t have to worry about getting up early every morning. You didn’t have to go out into the cold. There were no tests and no quizzes. No math classes, no history classes or no class that you may have dreaded. All that you had to look forward to for the next two weeks was two weeks of relaxation and joy.
I spent the last week preparing items for her holiday party and you forget the simple things that thrill children. My daughter and I took baby food jars and transformed them into snowmen with Styrofoam heads, beads for eyes, pipe cleaners for noses and black dots for their suits. We filled the jars with jellybeans and my husband showed up in time to share in the bounty of jellybeans when we were done.
We sat there, munching jellybeans and swapping Christmas stories and laughing. It was a great few moments and it falls into the category precious moments. My daughter recently learning the 12 Days of Christmas and we were trying to sing that together and the two of us kept flubbing the lines and the laughter we stirred up grew.
It was a great evening together and my husband has gone back to work and after our crisis nearly two weeks ago now, we all felt pretty normal together. It was nice to just relax and not jump at every thing. To not worry if he was ripping his stitches or breaking open the staple. It was nice to see him in much better shape.
It was great to laugh together and to be together and to accomplish together. With 10 days left to go until the holidays, I’ve gotten the best Christmas gift I could have gotten. I have my family whole and together and healthy and happy and laughing together and singing together. My heart goes out to anyone separated from loved ones this holiday season.
What is the best gift you could receive this Christmas?
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