Footie Pajamas
December 22nd. Just three days left until Christmas and here I sit, drinking coffee with caramel macchiato creamer, thinking. Reflecting really. About the Christmas' past. There is this warm fuzzy feeling that comes over me every year as this day approaches. How come? What is it that makes Christmas feel like a warm blanket wrapped around me on a cold rainy day?
I remember Christmas as a little girl, in footie pajamas, my sleepy eyes filled with wonder. The pile of gifts under a sad artificial tree of the 70's, with gobs of tinsel and those huge colored lights. The doll that drinks and wets. The Easy Bake oven that made the horrible desserts I made my dad choke down. The Barbie phone that really rang! Fun stuff. I remember a Christmas that I had scarlet fever, it was horrible. I had to wear sunglasses in the house because any source light caused searing pain. But, even still, it was sort of fun to live out what seemed like a real live version of The Little House on the Prairie. Who gets scarlet fever? Me and Mary Ingalls that's who!
I also hold in my special vault of memories the first Christmas Michael and I shared the year we were married. We didn't have much money, but we were so very excited that we opened our gifts on the 23rd! I don't have a clue what I bought him that year, but I remember how tender and special it was for me. Then came our boys. Waking up early on Christmas morning with their own footie pajamas. Our youngest with the batman cape tied around his neck. Their sweet sleepy eyes blinking with excitement. We always knew when they were up due to the squeaky floor board right outside their bedroom doors. As they have grown into young men they still get up at the crack of dawn Christmas morning, and jump up and down on that squeaky floorboard. A sound I love and hate all at the same time. My boys.
As I think about the Christmas' past, there always comes the reason for the day. I sit, and I wonder, and I dream, and I just can never fully come to understand the fullness of that first Christmas day so long ago. A young girl far from home, with a man she had never known as her husband. Pregnant and most likely afraid. Ending up in a stable to give birth to our Savior. All part of God's plan and design. She held in her arms God, wrapped in human flesh. And as the song goes, "Mary did you know?" I think about Mary and I wonder how much she understood. I think about Joseph and the kind of man he must have been. A tender, loving, understanding man of God. Ordinary people, who brought us all an extraordinary gift. The Christ Child. Jesus.
So maybe the warm feeling comes from the memories of the footie pajamas that have spanned two generations in my life, first me then my boys. Or maybe it comes from the people around me, that are all tucked so neatly away in those moments in my mind. But truthfully, I think it comes from knowing the true meaning of Christmas. It's about something much bigger than what the world has made it out to be. It is so easy to forget why we even have Christmas with all the commercialism that surrounds us. It so easy to get swept up in how much we need to do and spend. It is easy to miss that stores have stopped saying Merry Christmas and instead say Happy Holidays. Maybe we need to slow down and just take a moment to remember. My heart is to live out each Christmas in such a way that it makes Jesus smile. He is the reason for this season. He is the reason I am here on this earth and able to have such warm memories of the Christmas' past. This Christmas, just like all the others, I just want Him to know, I remember. I remember what He did. I remember the cost. I remember the sacrifice. I remember His love for me. I remember that it is CHRISTmas.
Dr. Seuss said it pretty well when he had the Grinch realize, "It came with out ribbons! It came without tags! It came without packages, boxes or bags!"
I hope you all make some warm fuzzy memories of your own this year, with or without donning your footie pajamas. :)
Merry Christmas everybody!
I remember Christmas as a little girl, in footie pajamas, my sleepy eyes filled with wonder. The pile of gifts under a sad artificial tree of the 70's, with gobs of tinsel and those huge colored lights. The doll that drinks and wets. The Easy Bake oven that made the horrible desserts I made my dad choke down. The Barbie phone that really rang! Fun stuff. I remember a Christmas that I had scarlet fever, it was horrible. I had to wear sunglasses in the house because any source light caused searing pain. But, even still, it was sort of fun to live out what seemed like a real live version of The Little House on the Prairie. Who gets scarlet fever? Me and Mary Ingalls that's who!
I also hold in my special vault of memories the first Christmas Michael and I shared the year we were married. We didn't have much money, but we were so very excited that we opened our gifts on the 23rd! I don't have a clue what I bought him that year, but I remember how tender and special it was for me. Then came our boys. Waking up early on Christmas morning with their own footie pajamas. Our youngest with the batman cape tied around his neck. Their sweet sleepy eyes blinking with excitement. We always knew when they were up due to the squeaky floor board right outside their bedroom doors. As they have grown into young men they still get up at the crack of dawn Christmas morning, and jump up and down on that squeaky floorboard. A sound I love and hate all at the same time. My boys.
As I think about the Christmas' past, there always comes the reason for the day. I sit, and I wonder, and I dream, and I just can never fully come to understand the fullness of that first Christmas day so long ago. A young girl far from home, with a man she had never known as her husband. Pregnant and most likely afraid. Ending up in a stable to give birth to our Savior. All part of God's plan and design. She held in her arms God, wrapped in human flesh. And as the song goes, "Mary did you know?" I think about Mary and I wonder how much she understood. I think about Joseph and the kind of man he must have been. A tender, loving, understanding man of God. Ordinary people, who brought us all an extraordinary gift. The Christ Child. Jesus.
So maybe the warm feeling comes from the memories of the footie pajamas that have spanned two generations in my life, first me then my boys. Or maybe it comes from the people around me, that are all tucked so neatly away in those moments in my mind. But truthfully, I think it comes from knowing the true meaning of Christmas. It's about something much bigger than what the world has made it out to be. It is so easy to forget why we even have Christmas with all the commercialism that surrounds us. It so easy to get swept up in how much we need to do and spend. It is easy to miss that stores have stopped saying Merry Christmas and instead say Happy Holidays. Maybe we need to slow down and just take a moment to remember. My heart is to live out each Christmas in such a way that it makes Jesus smile. He is the reason for this season. He is the reason I am here on this earth and able to have such warm memories of the Christmas' past. This Christmas, just like all the others, I just want Him to know, I remember. I remember what He did. I remember the cost. I remember the sacrifice. I remember His love for me. I remember that it is CHRISTmas.
Dr. Seuss said it pretty well when he had the Grinch realize, "It came with out ribbons! It came without tags! It came without packages, boxes or bags!"
Merry Christmas everybody!
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