Different Christmas

As we clean the house and do the final wrapping, we prepare for a different Christmas.  Our tradition has been that Christmas begins with Mass at 6pm on Christmas Eve.  Our evening is filled with the sparkle of the decorated church and the energy emerging from a packed church.  We come home and collapse in bed, waiting for the night the come.  Early the next morning, the kids wake us up and we our home is filled with the joy of presents.  Dinner is fancy but not intricate, although eaten on Grandma's beautiful china.  The day ends in watching a movie and eating candy.

This Christmas will be different.  A homestead Christmas means no cans or plastic wrap in the trash, no candy wrappers laying around the house, and lots of work to get a nice dinner on the table.  The sabbath law about no cooking makes a lot of sense to me now.  Without it there would have been no sabbath rest for women.  We will get as close as can.

We will go to Mass this evening as always, but when we get home, we have to milk rather than relax into bed.  We will get up early, as always, but after stockings, we'll take a break and go milk again. We'll skim milk for cream and figure out how to get all the jugs in the frig.  And then back to presents.

Without bags of commercial candy, today we'll make caramel and maybe fudge.  Today we made a pecan pie.

Rather than fresh rolls, we're making them today and we'll heat them up tomorrow for Christmas dinner. 

And today we'll thoroughly clean the whole house.

Christmas Eve is filled with more work, but a simmering expectation.  Last night my nine-year old said, "I'm glad we have so much work to do tomorrow.  It will make the waiting easier."   What a wonderful and healthy sense of gratitude.  I aim to follow her.