So it's Christmas Eve, all day long. And this is my 29th such event. For my oldest son, now two, it is his first Christmas Eve aware of the magic of Santa and Jesus' birth. Quite a special one for his mom and me.
Looking back over the many Christmas seasons throughout stages in my life, my anticipation, I thought, had peaked around age 12. My family can attest that I was the earliest riser, looking at the wonderful gifts left by Santa under the tree. In fact, often I was up early enough to go back to bed for a few hours before the rest of the crew awoke. But, those days of high excitement passed, like many things of youth.
This season, however, has marked a new anticipation. The anticipation of watching my own children experience the same love and comfort I felt as a child. Snow-covered Christmas mornings fill many of my mind's happiest memories. My wife and I are blessed to be able to offer a Christmas morning that will excite my sons, hopefully in a similar way.
But this Christmas season has been my most anticipated in recent memory, and not for the old reasons. For the first time, we picked out and decorated a tree with our oldest. We set up our own and looked at Christmas lights around the community. And, we even watched Charlie Brown's Christmas special! It's truly a fun time.
When I was younger, I remember seeing my parents and grandparents open far fewer gifts than the children. I feared one day receiving less gifts, too. A fear born of young eyes, as though my joy was tied to the gifts below the tree. From today's vantage point, the adults were ears deep in gift, surrounded by their kids and kids' kids, purely joyful and overrun with love.
I'm looking forward to that gift. Best yet, it just started snowing!
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