The Sound of (Almost) Silence
The holidays end up a time of utter chaos.
Sure, we all have fun with family and friends…we indulge in all the comforting and sugar-filled foods and end-of-the-year-spirits…we dress up in fancy clothes or ugly sweaters…we take a litany of photos to upload on various social media platforms and scroll for the trending hashtags…we laugh, we hug…we scurry around buying and wrapping the perfect presents…and delight in our loved ones opening those same delicately wrapped gifts…or items that remained in the Amazon holiday gift bags after delivery to our front doors.
All year, we say we look forward to the holidays…we count down days until Christmas…we put up our trees earlier and earlier…and some folks even move a silly little elf around the house…while reminding hyper and sometimes unruly children that a fat man in a red suit won’t bring presents unless the kids do their chores, mind their manners, and play nice with their siblings.
But really…it is all chaotic and just a lot. A lot of people. A lot of noise. A lot of travel. A lot of commitments. A lot of over-commitments. A lot of cooking…and let’s not forget the endless cleaning amid the holiday decor clutter.
We end up exhausted and needing a break from our holiday break.
While this year’s Christmas Chaos was supposed to encompass dinners with friends, holiday parties, travel across the country and then interstate travel before jet-setting back across the country again…it turned into a different kind of unrest.
My son and I spent every moment of eight days straight in each other’s germ-infused presence. Very rarely would either of us have even five minutes alone…
He’s on the toilet pooping, “Mama! Come sit with me and wipe my butt!”
He’s taking a bath or shower, “Mama! Come play bath basketball!”
I’m attempting to take a shower, “Mama! I want to shower too! Move over.”
The endless requests from 7:30 AM to 8:30 PM, “Mama! Will you play with me?”
And then when the sun was down and house finally settling, “Mama, I need to sleep in your bed. I don’t feel good. I just love you so much.”
Holiday dinners and parties received a cancelation notice. Friends were bid holiday cheer from digital messages many cities and states away. All travel was cancelled and refunded.
It was just him and I…and whatever random symptom decided to attack us on any given day.
It, too, was a lot…the fevers, vomiting, rubbing the runny nose on my arm, and my own loss of bladder control thanks to the devil in my chest making me cough up a lung…but this glorious chaos gave us something we wouldn’t have had otherwise.
Time.
And Us Memories.
Making holiday cookies. Cuddling during Home Alone 1, 2 and 3….belly-laughing every time the bird said, “What’s on your mind, Monkey-butt?” Endless board games. Too many backyard at-bats to count. Making heart shaped waffles. Driving around to see Christmas lights. Christmas books, Christmas coloring, and Christmas music all day long. We sang. We laughed. We hugged. We snuggled. And we FaceTimed the people we love, and the people we didn’t get to see. And neither of us complained once about missing the trips, the parties, or the plans.
The holiday season isn’t about parties, pictures, tasty calories or elaborate presents.
It’s about the ultimate gift ever received. The gift of peace. Our Prince of Peace.
This year, my prince, my miracle baby and I celebrated the birth of Christ in peace.
And now, surrounded by all the holiday decor and unwrapped presents pushed under the tree…having kissed my coughing miracle baby goodbye before he left to spend time with his dad, I sit in peaceful silence.
No more music. No more TV in the background. No squealing five year old chasing an aging chihuahua around the house. No endless demands to play. No screaming from injuries. No noisy toys.
The house is calm and nearly silent for the first time in eight long days.
With the whispering swirl from the fan overhead…and the ever-present ringing in my tinnitus-ridden ears…I bask in God’s glory… grateful for the season…and the peace He has delivered once again.
