(Santa visited our house two mornings ago before we headed out to visit T's grandparents!)
Years ago, while my grandparents (my dad's parents) were still here and spending every Christmas with my family, we began reading a wonderful book (or excerpts from it) every year together on Christmas Eve. The book is Christmas Gift! by Ferrol Sams and it was always a wonderful way to connect the old and young members of my family. My grandparents would smile lovingly as they reflected on their childhoods, their Christmases past. And there was a line in that book, if memory serves me correctly, that says something to the effect of "Christmas is for children." Now that I have a child, I get it.
Even though Thomas doesn't yet fully understand Christmas or know much other than Santa says "ho, ho, ho" and Christmas trees have "ights" (which he loves to tell me all the time) and "bawls" (said with the cutest Southern accent), I see that the best part of Christmas is seeing the joy in your child's eyes. And also, for me, it's always remembering that Christmas is about the miracle of the season and to me, Thomas is my greatest miracle of all. I remember that Christmas two years ago when I was pregnant with him, on bedrest and not sure if he would ever be the part of my life that he has become. I am so thankful that he is and that now I get to watch him enjoy everything that Christmas means to him and teach him all that he will hopefully one day understand.
The title of that book refers to the game the author and his family members played every Christmas. The goal was to tell your loved ones (or rather shout to your loved ones) "Christmas gift!" before they could say it back to you. So on this beautiful Christmas morning, as I sit here and wait for my son to awake while I feel the constant tumbling of this little baby in my belly whom I have yet to meet, I must shout to all readers of this: CHRISTMAS GIFT EVERYBODY!
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