This time of the year always manages to get uncontrollably hectic no matter how many times I promise myself that we're going to keep it "simple." The chaos manages to sap the true meaning out of the Season and before I know it, I'm pulling the decorations down (mumbling and thinking nasty thoughts about the folks who engineer fake pre-lit Christmas trees). My thoughts go from thinking about how scared Mary must have been while wondering around Bethlehem looking for some inn which "left the light on" for her to tallying the dollars spent on things that ultimately didn't matter at all but sapped my resources! So, this year, I really haven't set too many expectations as far as decorating or even sending out cards! When Dasha made her yearly comment about our house being the only one on the street without lights outside, I didn't even flinch! I have no need to stand in the holly bushes trying to get those blasted light nets spread evenly and poke myself repeatedly! What gain comes from it? Nothing in the long run other than making Dasha happy and there are PLENTY of other ways that I can do that! As I tear myself away from that run away train of thought and get back to the point, I can tell you that this year, things will be SIMPLE! This will be the year that we focus on what's really important!
I've been much more sensitive to those things that really matter this year and here's what I have so far...
1) Taking a group of over 150 3rd graders to the Fox Theater to see The Nutcracker. As many of the boys started commenting on the "parts and pieces" that some of the men dancers had.... OK, I'm not even going to go there! You get my drift! Men in tights is not a good thing for bored 8 years olds to have to focus their attention on for any length of time! However, just as the kids were growing restless and I wondered if we were going to make it out alive, I looked over and one of the students was staring at the ceiling of the theater and completely in awe. She simply looked over and said, "This is incredible! Thank you for bringing me here." Wow! Who knew that something so simple spoken from an 8 year old could have such a profound effect. She was truly thankful. There aren't many times that my own kids show that kind of gratefulness! Then, I looked down the row over a few more kids who were squirming in their seats to see a couple of students cuddled up together and asleep. Sometimes, it's so easy to forget that these big responsible third graders are still babies! To see those two cuddled up together really did make the bus ride and squirmy students worth the trip! These children I teach every day are someone's babies. They jump into mom and dad's bed when they're scared and many of them still cuddle up with blankies or special toys at night! They aren't just soldiers who must meet the goals and pass the CRCT in order to clear my name for another year! They are precious little ones just as Annie, Grant, and Dasha are.
2) Each year, we read The Best Christmas Pageant Ever in class. If you've never read the book, you MUST find a copy and read it! The story tells of a rag-tag bunch of hoodlums who take over a very conservative Christmas Pageant. Throughout the book, the Christmas story is told. Although the lingo is definitely King James Version style and needs some translations, the hoodlums help the stiff and complacent church goers see the Christmas story in a new light! I'm always amazed at how much of the story my kids know! At one point in the story, they have a discussion about what would have happened if the Wise Men had reported back to Herod instead of going home a different way. Have you ever thought about that? It's a thought that doesn't cross my mind until I read this story and am reminded about the complete plan that was formed long before any of us were here to interfere! (I also have to note that when we were previewing the story and I told the kids that the pageant was based on the Christmas Story, some thought I was talking about Ralphie who gets his eye shot out with the Red Rider BB gun)!
3) Probably my best reminder of all so far came from one of our students who moved to the US from Columbia a few months ago. One of her teachers gave her a huge peppermint stick as a gift and she literally jumped up and kissed him on the cheek! She kept saying, "Thank you, thank you, thank you," in her broken English. By this point, the teacher was just about in tears! The little girl then went on to ask, "What is it?" She didn't even know what the gift was. She just knew that she was very appreciative!
There are so many times when I think about the Christmas Story and think about how miraculous and wonderful the baby Jesus' birth was. However, I think about it as if it was simply a daydream. I don't think about how uncomfortable Mary must have been riding on that blasted donkey all of the way to Bethlehem! (If we think we complain about tax day now, imagine how much Mary must have hated trudging all the way to Bethlehem to take care of their taxes on a donkey being nine months pregnant)! Shoot, I complained about walking to the mailbox when I was nine months pregnant! Then, as her labor pains hit, she was probably thinking about where in the world she was going to stay. She had to have been terrified! I knew exactly where I was going to labor and give birth and I was still nervous about the whole situation! Mary was a real woman having a real baby! She wasn't just a beautiful girl painted in a picture riding a donkey side-saddle into town! (Hopefully, Mary had a bit more class than I do. If Eric had tried to make me ride a donkey and then give birth in a barn, I don't think I would have been too kind about the situation and I'm not sure that he would have survived the birth)! But, we're never told of Mary's disposition so I have to assume that she truly knew that what was to come would change the world. So, there she and Joseph were - in a barn. Yes, the nice word is stable but let's face it, she gave birth in a barn! There were animals in that barn! She couldn't lay little Jesus down on the ground! He might have been stepped on or even worse. I can just imagine that the barn was not the most sanitary of accommodations! So, she place him in the feed trough! This was how our Savior was brought into this world. It wasn't grand or glorious in sight. We all know that the event of the birth was a glorious thing but the logistical realities of the situation were nothing to behold!
These are the thoughts that are helping me keep it simple this year. No frills and no fluff - just like that first Christmas. (I won't make my kids sleep in the barn, though, even though they act like they've been raised in one)! So, as my list of silly happenings which help me remember the real reason of Christmas grows, I will withstand the urge to put the rest of the lights outside and rush around trying to get teacher gifts bought and wrapped. The only urgency this year is to stay centered and focused on being grateful for what we have and for the One who has allowed us to have it!
Side note: I'm wondering if Scrooge started off on the right foot and was just trying to avoid the chaos but took it too far! If a ghost named Marley wakes me up, I promise that I'll go out and put the lights up outside!
