So, This is Christmas...

We’re just barely into December, and we’ve got personalized stockings on the way from Pottery Barn, the cutest Bert Anderson chickadee ornament coming to us from GROW Nebraska and a Little Superstar Musical Exersaucer ready to assemble. It’s our first Christmas as a family, and I am SO excited.

Our own little chickadee is already smitten with the season, from the sparkling lights and glittery ornaments on our tree to the variety-show worthy Christmas carols we sing and dance to while making dinner and changing diapers and rolling over (and over and over!) No, she doesn’t have any idea it’s Christmas, and she won’t remember a thing about this year after it’s all said and done. But she is fully capable of feeling and sharing the joy and laughter and love this holiday inspires with her whole heart. You can see it in her eyes, and it’s amazing.

While I’ve never been one to fall prey to the commercialized hustle and bustle, I will admit I have lost a lot of the affection that I once had for the holiday over my adult years. Money and time are always short. There are always marital conflicts, travel snafus and a crazy number of places to go and people to see. All the things you were oblivious to as a wide-eyed, Santa-loving child is so apparent. It’s exhausting, and it sucks the joy right out of you. But this year, looking through the eyes of a child once again, it’s easy to remember what’s important. I am taking every opportunity to have as much fun with Emery and Brian and the rest of my family as I can, to make as many memories as possible and to start as many traditions as I can think of, hoping just a few of them will stick throughout the coming years.

Even picking an Angel Tree baby, something I have done each and every year since I was probably 15, was a new experience. Instead of any random kid with a cool toy request, I searched the tree until I found a 3-month old baby boy named Humberto. The whole time, I talked to Emery in her stroller, telling her that we were looking for another baby to buy presents for so he could have a happy Christmas too. It was deliberate, picking a baby her age. Thinking about the prospect of picking a new Angel her age every year, sharing the how and why of loving and caring for others, especially those less fortunate, I feel both thankful for and humbled by the opportunity and obligation to raise our daughter with the values we hold so dear. My tradition has become “our” tradition now. How special is that?