Reason for the Season

Dear Caroline,

Another Christmas has come and will soon be gone.

Christmas is a very complicated day for a lot of people, and I am beginning to think that I fall into this category. It is such a joyous time of year and that creates pressure for a perfect day.

I write letters to you to show you that the kind of person that I am now. And I am the kind of person that loves Christmas. I love the tree, the time spent with family, seeing the magic in my students’ faces, cookies, and the traditions. This can lead to expectations about the “stuff” of Christmas. This year we went without a lot of the stuff and I’ll be honest, I am disappointed. Christmas is one day out of the year that most people can expect to be happy. I wasn’t happy this year. This year I worked almost up til the date of Christmas and that might have had something to do with it. But I think that the most likely reason is that I’ve been focusing too much on the stuff and not on the reason for the season.

We have really gotten lax about attending church. I don’t think we’ve been since last Christmas Eve. We didn’t even read the story of the Nativity this year as a family. But more importantly, we’ve let the relationship go as well. Christmas isn’t about the stuff. Its about celebrating the relationship that began on this day all those years ago. As your mother, I hope to build up my relationship with the Creator that gave me the desire to make you a part of our forever family.

Wish #62: I wish for you to always remember the reason for the season even if it is hard.

Love always