It’s the rest of the week. Are you ready?
Our Christmas preparations have been greatly simplified from years of living in contexts where Christmas is celebrated differently, or not at all, so when someone at work asked me if I was ready for Christmas, I responded, “yes” without much thought.
She looked surprised—almost startled.
“Are you ready?” I asked.
She thought for a moment, and then replied, “Well, yes, I guess I am.”
We acknowledged that the little details we still hoped to attend to wouldn’t make or break our celebrations and we enjoyed the accompanying sense of anticipation—which felt better than sharing the pressure and sense of urgency that often seems to be part and parcel of the holiday season.
This year, my sister and her family are here for Christmas—all the way from the other side of the country.
In a state like North Carolina, and a city like Charlotte, there are endless opportunities for giving someone a good time—especially during the holidays. So, Ricardo and I started asking for advice from locals and searching online.
We did not want to wing it (as we are wont to do). We wanted to be prepared.
But what does it mean to be prepared—to be ready?
Just before their arrival, I called Celina with yet another opportunity for holiday fun and she expressed her gratitude for our intentionality—and then added that they really just wanted to be with us. Her husband, Ben, chimed in, saying that they were looking forward to seeing where we lived—to experiencing a bit of our world with us.
Those words were a gift, an invitation to rest.
Physical preparations are good, but such preparing can take on a life of its own and absorb our attention to the point that we believe it is the most important element. Preparing provides an infrastructure, but is no guarantee that we’ll attain what we’re hoping for.
So we made three lists—one of things we could do at home, one of places where we could go, and one of events that we might want to attend.
So far, we have done a luxurious amount of visiting with rich conversation. The cousins have played Legos and instruments. We have walked to see the neighbor’s horses and the children have collected an impressive amount of hickory nuts. Each evening, everyone receives or chooses a word and then has 60 seconds to stand up and talk about it—and be heard in new ways. And of course there is meal prep and eating together.
After a hike and visit to the nature center, we finally ventured out to one of the Big Event options—which will go down in family history as disastrously funny. You know, the kind of shared experience that draws you closer every time you look back on it and laugh.
Sometimes the meaningful and memorable experiences are the ones we could not have prepared for. But we recognize them because we are ready for them—because we remember what it is we’re really after.
May you be ready and may your rest be sweet.
Alicia