Sav(i)or the Moments :-)

This Christmas, for me, is a bittersweet blessing.....

It's official....  the kids are grown or gone..... there is no wild Christmas morning on tap for my home this year.  As recent as last year, there was still a little excitement.... some fun trimming the tree.... some family Christmas movie watching...  but this year.... well... I live with men.... three lovely oblivious men :-)  God is good to me but loves to hand me a challenge!

This year we are blessed to have my father-in-law stay with us.... which has been a super addition to the mix... but that makes me and FOUR oblivious men.... so it would be an understatement to say that our Christmas looks different this year!

I still spent Christmas Eve wrapping - somehow I always seem to do that :-)  And I do have two absolutely adorable grandbaby girls to spoil - I will see them this afternoon.   I also spent Christmas Eve baking!  I made calzones for lunch, ham & cheese flatbread for the family gathering and a version of Panettone for this morning's breakfast (thanks to Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day) 

And I still got up early to finish wrapping - no, there isn't all that much - but yesterday, when the men were around, I wrapped the other family members' gifts... and this morning I wrapped my guys' stuff.  No real surprises for anybody - but things that are needed nonetheless.  And, I think they WILL be surprised to have anything under the tree :-)  [though they should NOT be surprised - they DO live with me, after all and this is not a new behavior on my part :-)]    But it is MY fun to do!

And this year I learned.  What I learned is that I need to decide each year what is important to ME and just do it.  What my family cares about is a happy ME.... they don't really see the rest of the Christmas excitement.. and that is okay.  We each have our own way of navigating life... and I enjoy Christmas!  But I'm not sure I ever had enough time to stop and figure that out...  I will miss church this year but I do not live with church-goers and did not plan accordingly.... besides, I want to be with my family!  I think God understands the dilemma :-)

So now I sit and write to you.... and I want to say... Savor the Moment!  I want to say that the wild frenzied Christmas mornings do not last forever... and, while it sounds great to think of some quiet moments..... you will get to a point in your life where the quiet moments will go on forever unless you choose to do it differently.  Christmas is what you make it.... and you are blessed to be loved.. Never doubt that you ARE loved..

My life has changed.... Christmas looks different.... but it's still here!  It's here in the love we have shared in our home... it's not about the trappings, though these may make it more special.. it's not about material things.  It's about what we give of ourselves and are able to receive from others - whatever that looks like. 

Change is the only constant in life...... so take a look around at the moments that surround you this morning.. whatever they are... and smile.  It's life.... beautiful, messy, blessed life.... So... savor the moments the Savior gave you!

Merry Christmas and thanks for reading!