For the past couple of years, Hannah has been in
charge of setting up the lights outside.
She does a nice job. Each year it’s
a little different. Each year is
prettier than the last. When she’s done,
all of us chip in and decorate the inside of the house. Each year pictures get taken down and
seasonal pictures take their place. The
tree gets purchased. Kim puts on the
lights and together as a family, we put on the ornaments. Some old.
Some newer. Baby ornaments
depicting Wil’s, Hannah’s, Emily’s birth or birthday. A baseball ornament for Wil. Soccer ornaments for all three kids. Swimming ornaments for Hannah and Emily. Wedding and anniversary ornaments. Lots.
The tree is full. Full.
Each year, our Golden, Bailey, picks one and eats
it. Yup.
Never fails. One ornament a
year. Sherlock, before he died, did the
same thing. No clue why. They just do.
Together, Emily and I put up the Village. You could say that it’s our thing.
We set up two tables.
We make sure we have the extension cords. We place the fake snow down and then open up
the trunk and take out the boxes.
We place the houses,
and the shops, and the people just so.
They have to be just right. As if
one could step into the scene and take part.
Buy the baked ham or the freshly baked bread. Can almost smell it. Perhaps skate on the pond and drink hot
chocolate. Maybe cut down the Christmas
trees and sell them along with the seller.
Can almost smell the pine. Or,
help feed the chickens or milk the cow on the little homestead up on the hill
outside of town. The other animals
amongst the bales of hay.
Prepare, And The Preparation.
Almost, but not quite ready.
We have the lists of wishes, needs, and “I’d likes”. Shopping and wrapping and name tags. Tape.
Lots of tape. Random bundles and
stacks under the tree.
Prepare, And The Preparation.
Advent is one of my favorite seasons . . .
themes. Its very nature, its meaning, is
to Prepare. To make ready. To get ready.
To Prepare our heart.
To get our heart ready. To get our
mind ready. Each year, at the same time
of year, we Prepare. We make
Preparations.
We get to go change what we’ve done. We get to change how we do things. How we think.
How we act. How we treat people .
. . ourselves.
We have the opportunity to begin again. To make things right. To Prepare, and To Make Preparations. A great concept and philosophy. A concept that is truly more realistic than
an ideal.
My question is this: why should we wait until each
December to Prepare to do better . . . to think better? Why wait until each December to make our Preparations? Shouldn’t we do this each day? Every day?
And, why Prepare? Can’t we just
do? Each day . . . every day . . . just
do? And if we stumble and fall, if we
make a mistake, we try again . . . and again . . . and again. Each day . . . every day. Something to think about . . .
Live Your Life, And Make A Difference!
Pat Ruppel shared your blog post on Google+
ReplyDeleteNice reminder, Joe. It won't be long when we'll be digging out those boxes with Christmas lights and decorations in our household. You're right about preparation. I guess we're a work in progress. Pat