I know it is only the 6th of November and we have barely passed Halloween but I have been thinking about Christmas for a while. This will be the first year that Aidan is really excited about Christmas and we will be celebrating here in Vancouver. That is not to say that we haven’t celebrated Christmas in Vancouver, just that last year we were in Nova Scotia, and that was the first year Aidan was anticipating Christmas and all the fun and pageantry that goes with it.
Last year we wrote a letter to Santa and went to visit him at the mall here in Vancouver. We also put together a box for Operation Christmas Child and bought some food for the food bank. I wanted the giving not to be all about the getting. I wanted Aidan to understand that we can help people who don’t have as much as we do.
This year we have a few things I want us to do in the way of charity. We (in the next week) will put together a box for Operation Christmas Child. I fully plan to go to the CBC Food Bank Day and make a donation. I also hope to be a part of helping a local family have a great Christmas. I think that it would be really good for Aidan to be a part of making someone else’s Christmas special.
I know that one of the things I really appreciated as a child was being able to give back to another family the way our family was taken care of. It is hard to write, but I don’t know if people realize how happy they can make some children. The wonder of opening the door and having a box on the doorstep with no one around is wondrous for both the child, and I daresay the parent. I know that even without the generous people who helped us that Christmas, my parents would have made it wondrous for us still. I still thank those anonymous people for making us all believe that Santa Claus was alive and well.
I also fully plan to make Advent more of a reality in this house this year. Aidan is old enough to know that Christmas is about more than getting presents and Santa Claus for us. With the help of books, and Advent wreath and the creches we have I hope to make this season both fun and spiritual.
Anthony and I have some traditions that I want to keep. We like to go to see the lights at Stanley Park and VanDusen. I love singing at Midnight Mass. Putting way to many lights on my Christmas tree to make it the most beautiful (and shiny) thing in the living room. Going to Maplewood Farms on Christmas Eve. Having the friends, who have become family, over for dinner on Christmas Day. These are all keepers.
There are other things that I want so much to stay as part of our traditions, but I am not sure that they will this year. This is something I can’t write about here, and I have been a bit cowardly about trying to make it better if I can. I am still unsure about how to proceed without making things worse from what was a big misunderstanding. Unfortunately I cannot control how other people can hold grudges. I can only hope that things will get better and that forgiveness is found.
So before I put my foot further in my mouth and make things worse I will sign off.