Not Christmas Past, Not Christmas Future, but Christmas PRESENT

Life has been crazy for me the last couple months.  I'm busier than I want to be professionally and personally, but life has a way of moving on autopilot sometimes despite our best intentions.  Over Thanksgiving, I had an appellate brief that was due the following week, so those few days off were spent researching and writing, and taking a brief break for dinner.  After Thanksgiving, there wasn't much of a reprieve:  both kids were in the Nutcracker, and then there was stuff at school and art projects for the school fundraiser, and end of year board meetings...well, you get the picture.  Despite all the hectic evenings and long nights, the one thing I didn't get caught up in was the materialism of the holiday.  Thank goodness for my Church to remind me about the true meaning of Christmas.

Despite the beautiful message of Christmas, it can be a hard time for so many.  Not just because it is hectic and crazy, but also because it is a sentimental time when we remember Christmases Past, and think back on family we have lost that aren't with us in body (but are always with us in spirit!).  The music, the decorations, even decorating the Christmas tree, with ornaments handmade or purchased on trips or received as gifts, maybe some that adorned the trees of parents or grandparents, all contribute to the nostalgia and hearkening back to Christmases we remember from our childhood or celebrations we had with loved ones in the past.

Additionally, we often think about what we will do next year to make the next Christmas better, or if Christmas didn't go the way we think it should this year, we start planning for next year.  Maybe we think about taking a trip at Christmas, or spending time with family who are far away, and we begin planning for next year almost as soon as the food has been eaten and the decorations taken down.

But perhaps, as I was reminded recently when a good friend suddenly and unexpectedly lost her mother, maybe the best Christmas is the one we have now...not the one from last year, or twenty years ago, or even the one we hope for next year.  Maybe we need to stay in the moment and celebrate those who are with us in the here and now.  When Lydia was dying, a good friend reminded me that scripture tells us "to let the dead bury the dead".  I think this means we have to focus on the living, and what we have now.  We can certainly grieve those who aren't with us, and mourn that loss, as it is a very real loss, but we also can't lose sight of what we have in front of us:  friends, family, food, a home....but most importantly:  this moment!  A moment you will never get to live again....just soaking up and enjoying what is here, what is present, and what is impermanent.  None of us know what the future holds, but what we can do is live in the present, understanding that the future is not guaranteed.  Live in the moment:  live, laugh, love, and don't just give presents but give the best present you can give those in your life:  your PRESENCE.

May you all have a blessed Christmas and enjoy each moment.

Peace,
The Miyashitas
Monica, Mark, Max, Sarah-Grace, and  ^^Lydia^^
Daisy, Grizabella, Agatha and Weasley (the cats)