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(Pre-script: as this blog contains no Christmas music, I have no particular song to pair it's reading with. I have, however, always been partial to the nostalgia of the song "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas; the original "Meet me in Saint Louis" version, where Judy Garland sings "Until then we'll have to muddle through somehow" as opposed to the more current lyrics...SO sad. SO perfect.)
Y'all, seriously;
I don't trust anyone who says that he or she doesn't like getting presents. I don't believe that person. I think the person is saying that to try to sound in some way removed or above and beyond such silly human frivality...to which I say, "whatever, Trevor; and to think that we could have been friends." It may be that you are super rich and anything you might ever want is at your fingertips in 5 minutes...I don't know anyone like that personally, though, and I also do not envy that life, because how would you ever enjoy or appreciate anything? You wouldn't.
And seriously, please don't ever say to anyone "We're just going to focus on Jesus and the meaning of Christmas, not the presents." Because I think you are only going to create resentment towards Jesus...and WHY do those two have to be at war with each other? I was so confused by that as a kid; like, "Y'all told me the Christmas story last night, I acted in the play, we lit the candles and read the verses, and trust me, I am so grateful; but why does opening my presents and liking and looking forward to that have to mean that I don't love Jesus? Trust me, I will not forget his birth just because I got excited that you gave me the black turtleneck sweater I asked for with the ruffles on the cuffs...!"
And the Santa thing...it's cultural. It's part of the culture we live in. Have fun with that. Personally, I can't lie to my kids. I just can't. But we still just have fun with it. The legend of Santa began with a nice man trying to help a family out in need; I think that's a great tradition to follow. We all know that there are a million ways that everyone can do that every year, not just at Christmastime. On Sunday, we learned that by giving just $10, a child in Uganda can have clean drinking water...as in, they can drink water and not have to worry about dying from some horrible disease. Just $10.
Y'all, this time of year is stressful. Something in me rebels against it; I hate the feeling of the pressure and expectations to suddenly do, do, do...and I also try to remember what I felt like as a kid this time of year...so I do those fun things with my kids, but the things that are too stressful to me and make me feel like I would rather spend the day with the stomach flu are the things I avoid doing. I think that's good holiday advice for anyone... 'cause we all know what the stomach flu produces. 'nuf said.
-XOXO,
* I DO understand not wanting to recieve gifts from a person who's "gifts" always have unspoken expectations attatched; but that is a different case altogether, and that is not really a "gift," anyway...
P.S. Thank you for staying seated on this train until it came to a complete stop. It could have used a lot more editng...but then it wouldn't have been train of thought, and I was partial to sticking with the train of thought style for this post.
I don't trust anyone who says that he or she doesn't like getting presents. I don't believe that person. I think the person is saying that to try to sound in some way removed or above and beyond such silly human frivality...to which I say, "whatever, Trevor; and to think that we could have been friends." It may be that you are super rich and anything you might ever want is at your fingertips in 5 minutes...I don't know anyone like that personally, though, and I also do not envy that life, because how would you ever enjoy or appreciate anything? You wouldn't.
And seriously, please don't ever say to anyone "We're just going to focus on Jesus and the meaning of Christmas, not the presents." Because I think you are only going to create resentment towards Jesus...and WHY do those two have to be at war with each other? I was so confused by that as a kid; like, "Y'all told me the Christmas story last night, I acted in the play, we lit the candles and read the verses, and trust me, I am so grateful; but why does opening my presents and liking and looking forward to that have to mean that I don't love Jesus? Trust me, I will not forget his birth just because I got excited that you gave me the black turtleneck sweater I asked for with the ruffles on the cuffs...!"
And the Santa thing...it's cultural. It's part of the culture we live in. Have fun with that. Personally, I can't lie to my kids. I just can't. But we still just have fun with it. The legend of Santa began with a nice man trying to help a family out in need; I think that's a great tradition to follow. We all know that there are a million ways that everyone can do that every year, not just at Christmastime. On Sunday, we learned that by giving just $10, a child in Uganda can have clean drinking water...as in, they can drink water and not have to worry about dying from some horrible disease. Just $10.
Y'all, this time of year is stressful. Something in me rebels against it; I hate the feeling of the pressure and expectations to suddenly do, do, do...and I also try to remember what I felt like as a kid this time of year...so I do those fun things with my kids, but the things that are too stressful to me and make me feel like I would rather spend the day with the stomach flu are the things I avoid doing. I think that's good holiday advice for anyone... 'cause we all know what the stomach flu produces. 'nuf said.
-XOXO,
* I DO understand not wanting to recieve gifts from a person who's "gifts" always have unspoken expectations attatched; but that is a different case altogether, and that is not really a "gift," anyway...
P.S. Thank you for staying seated on this train until it came to a complete stop. It could have used a lot more editng...but then it wouldn't have been train of thought, and I was partial to sticking with the train of thought style for this post.
1 comment:
I agree. Santa is a part of the culture. I like to remind my kids it is the "spirit" of Christmas that matters. Santa's spirit is to be kind and giving to NICE children. Even thought Tatiana is acutely aware there is no Santa, she goes for the ride because it is all about having a good time. We whip up a cake and having a raging BDay party for Jesus and remember him above all else. We also play the "Merry Christmas Game" Seeing that most shopping institutions have banned Christ from the holiday, they stopped saying Merry Christmas. My kids LOVE to tell every cashier clerk Merry Christmas, and they keep a point of how many they can get to say "Merry Christmas" back. Serious challenge they love to take on. Keeps them on target.
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