How did the holidays come and go so quickly this year? It's all kind of a blur. One minute we were gearing up for them, the next, they were over.
I truly love Christmas and everything about the season. I mean to say that I could do with out many of the commercial aspects of Christmas, but I love the lights, the decorations, the trees, the smells, the desserts, the movies, and yes, even some of the music. We avoid the malls, and stay out of the stores as much as possible. We don't have cable tv, so we don't have to see all the advertisements. It's kind of nice actually; it gives us the ability to make Christmas into what we want it to be.
I think about how the winter would be without the holidays; so dark and dreary, nothing to look forward to but the spring time which seems so far away. Its a great distraction and when the holidays are over and we can put away the decorations, the shortest days are behind us and spring doesn't seem to be so far off anymore.
For me, the true magic of Christmas comes from the excitement emanating from Apollo and Orion.
Apollo started counting down the days until Christmas somewhere in the middle of November. He started out by asking (everyday) how many days until Christmas. After a few days of that, he kept track for himself and he would remind me daily how many days were left.
For several years now, I have just selected a tree on my own and brought it home. This year, Apollo (and Melanie) wanted to be a part of it. It started with a phone call from Apollo while I was at work.
"Dada, when are you coming home?"
"Hmmmm, I'm not sure. Why?"
"Because I want to go get a Christmas tree...and mama and Orion want to come too!"
"Okay, let me clean up and I will be home soon."
How could I argue with that? I race home and am greeted by two excited little boys. Orion races up to me and asks, "Are we going to get a tree?"
"Yes we are!" I reply enthusiastically.
Orion looks up at me, eyes wide, and begins shaking his head from side to side, "I don't have a tree," he says solemnly.
"Then lets go get one!!"
"YAY!!!!" Both boys yell in unison while jumping up and down.
Fast forward to Christmas eve (because it felt like fast forward to me!); Apollo and Orion are incredibly excited and wound up. All day, they asked about Santa and his reindeer. Apollo asked about the correlation between Christ and Santa and Christmas, which led to some great conversations.
We Skyped with Uncle Gooch, Aunt Kim, Yiayia, and Papa over in Switzerland, and Uncle Gooch told Apollo about Schmutzli, (a Swiss Christmas icon) Santa's dark helper that carried the naughty kids off to the woods. Apollo was very disturbed by this and wouldn't accept that Schmutzli was real. Of course I teased him about it all day.
As the night closed in, we set out some treats for Santa, some carrots for the reindeer, and then got ready for bed. As I tucked the boys in, I read them the story of How the Grinch stole Christmas. They have heard the story before, but this night they were really listening. They asked many questions. I love the message of this story by-the-way, and Apollo really wanted to understand how after all their presents were stolen, why the "Who's" still sang and celebrated Christmas.
Orion asked one last time, "When is Santa coming to our house?"
"Tonight! but he won't come until your asleep!"
"When you see him, can you tell him that I want a rocket, a plane, and a jet," his face was beaming.
"If I see him, I will tell him!"
Orion closed his eyes tightly, grinning from ear-to ear. "Dada," he says, eyes still closed and a smile still on his face, "I'm smiling because I am thinking that Santa is coming here!"
'Maybe Christmas doesn't come from a store. Maybe Christmas,' he thought, 'means a little bit more.'
I truly love Christmas and everything about the season. I mean to say that I could do with out many of the commercial aspects of Christmas, but I love the lights, the decorations, the trees, the smells, the desserts, the movies, and yes, even some of the music. We avoid the malls, and stay out of the stores as much as possible. We don't have cable tv, so we don't have to see all the advertisements. It's kind of nice actually; it gives us the ability to make Christmas into what we want it to be.
I think about how the winter would be without the holidays; so dark and dreary, nothing to look forward to but the spring time which seems so far away. Its a great distraction and when the holidays are over and we can put away the decorations, the shortest days are behind us and spring doesn't seem to be so far off anymore.
For me, the true magic of Christmas comes from the excitement emanating from Apollo and Orion.
Apollo started counting down the days until Christmas somewhere in the middle of November. He started out by asking (everyday) how many days until Christmas. After a few days of that, he kept track for himself and he would remind me daily how many days were left.
For several years now, I have just selected a tree on my own and brought it home. This year, Apollo (and Melanie) wanted to be a part of it. It started with a phone call from Apollo while I was at work.
"Dada, when are you coming home?"
"Hmmmm, I'm not sure. Why?"
"Because I want to go get a Christmas tree...and mama and Orion want to come too!"
"Okay, let me clean up and I will be home soon."
How could I argue with that? I race home and am greeted by two excited little boys. Orion races up to me and asks, "Are we going to get a tree?"
"Yes we are!" I reply enthusiastically.
Orion looks up at me, eyes wide, and begins shaking his head from side to side, "I don't have a tree," he says solemnly.
"Then lets go get one!!"
"YAY!!!!" Both boys yell in unison while jumping up and down.
Fast forward to Christmas eve (because it felt like fast forward to me!); Apollo and Orion are incredibly excited and wound up. All day, they asked about Santa and his reindeer. Apollo asked about the correlation between Christ and Santa and Christmas, which led to some great conversations.
We Skyped with Uncle Gooch, Aunt Kim, Yiayia, and Papa over in Switzerland, and Uncle Gooch told Apollo about Schmutzli, (a Swiss Christmas icon) Santa's dark helper that carried the naughty kids off to the woods. Apollo was very disturbed by this and wouldn't accept that Schmutzli was real. Of course I teased him about it all day.
Apollo spent hours watching the NORAD Santa tracker on my computer. He watched as Santa flew over Africa, and Europe, Greenland, Iceland, and South America. Every few minutes he would check the computer to see where Santa was.
As the night closed in, we set out some treats for Santa, some carrots for the reindeer, and then got ready for bed. As I tucked the boys in, I read them the story of How the Grinch stole Christmas. They have heard the story before, but this night they were really listening. They asked many questions. I love the message of this story by-the-way, and Apollo really wanted to understand how after all their presents were stolen, why the "Who's" still sang and celebrated Christmas.
Orion asked one last time, "When is Santa coming to our house?"
"Tonight! but he won't come until your asleep!"
"When you see him, can you tell him that I want a rocket, a plane, and a jet," his face was beaming.
"If I see him, I will tell him!"
Orion closed his eyes tightly, grinning from ear-to ear. "Dada," he says, eyes still closed and a smile still on his face, "I'm smiling because I am thinking that Santa is coming here!"
'Maybe Christmas doesn't come from a store. Maybe Christmas,' he thought, 'means a little bit more.'
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