A Christmas Change

This Sunday morning, December 20^th, I celebrated Christmas morning with my daughter and mother.

No, we are not confused; we all know Christmas Day is this Friday, the 25th.  But my daughter is going to be out of town this week, so we planned ahead and picked a day to have Christmas morning.

So, for all intents and purposes, today feels like Christmas Day to me!  We couldn’t have celebrated any better or any differently than we did today.

We made a wonderful breakfast of cranberry-orange scones, scrambled eggs with lots of cheddar cheese, sausage links, and fruit bowls.

After breakfast we moved to the living room, got a fire burning in the fireplace, sipped our Christmas Blend coffee, and opened gifts.  We laughed and talked and marveled at the wonderful gifts everyone gave and received.

Then we all watched “Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer”, with Burl Ives narrating, which is a yearly tradition for as long as I can remember.  That movie never gets old for us!

I realized today that a holiday, or any day for that matter, is what you make it.  It’s about being with the people you love and enjoying that day to the fullest.

When I first learned my daughter wouldn’t be with me on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day for the first time in 30 years, I was not at all happy about it.  I’ll be honest and confess I cried more than once.  But what I was unhappy about was “change”.  I wanted things to be like they’ve always been since my daughter was born; and the more I fought the change, the less happy I became.  As I think of it now, I can’t tell you when or how the magical moment came when I realized it’s not about a specific day or date, but it was about accepting change, making the best of a not-so-perfect circumstance, and taking on an attitude of thankfulness.  First and foremost, it is acknowledging that Christmas Day is about celebrating the birth of Jesus, and being thankful for all of the many blessings He has poured out upon us, day in and day out, year after year.

Today I had a wonderful Christmas Day with two people I love very much, who love me in return.  And today I am thankful for the little baby born in a lowly manger who is our King and Savior forever and ever.

Merry Christmas to my friends, family, and readers!  May you experience the true joy of Christmas Day every day of the year!