Scurry, scurry…frantic fury. The past month has flown by in a blur ! Despite continued attempts to keep our schedule manageable, there are still seasons of busyness because some invisible law dictates that once in a 
while, everything our children want to do and every event involving extended family or friends must all occur within the same limited time frame – and often at the exact same time. Ever been there? Thankfully we are nearing the end of a six week frenzy.
I regret that for me this year, Christmas seemed but a stepping stone on my quest to reach the end of the harried period. Since one major event is still looming on the horizon this week, it overshadowed in my mind what should have been a glorious celebration of Christ’s birth. I am grateful for the Lord’s mercy, even as the Martha in me continues to anxiously cook and clean in preparation for the big day.
No, I’m not talking about a fabulous New Year’s party ( though someday, I’d like to do that too), but rather a celebration in honor of my oldest son. Many other cultures have a wonderful ceremony affirming the growth of their children into young men, and my husband and I are trying to create a similar ceremony for our children. We believe in part that these markers help dispel some of the typical teenage angst, as these young people are affirmed as the maturing adults they are becoming. Our hope is that we can call our son to a higher path in life by surrounding him with adults who see him as he is, affirm who he is becoming, and challenge him to strive for greater things.
Our younger son asked if this was an “official” celebration and when I asked him to clarify, he replied, “Well, you know, a birthday party isn’t official because you have it at home; is this going to be at home or somewhere else?” In case you’re wondering, this will be an “official” celebration!
His next question was “Why are we cleaning and working so hard if the party is somewhere else?” Apparently, he was oblivious to the fact that even though the official celebration is being held elsewhere, Mom is still the official caterer, party director, and bed and breakfast hostess for out of town guests.
I am officially crossing things off of my to do list each day, recognizing my limits and dealing with the fact that I won’t get the bathroom repainted before my company comes nor will the expanse of thick wet leaves disappear from my backyard anytime soon. The constant rain over the last few weeks has seen to that.
But we will have a wonderful time with family and friends, our son will know he is loved well – and I will finally be officially off-duty for a while!
I think this was my most relaxed Christmas time in a long while. Especially since I have a 3 1/2 year old. But she is the reason I really wanted to make it about the birth of Jesus and the celebration of Him. As a matter of fact, I am considering having a birthday cake for Jesus this week so we can continue our focus for a few more days.
I enjoy your blog and check it regularly. Thanks for the info on the handmade toys. Congratulations on the ‘official’ celebration. Hope it’s all ya’ll want it to be. And don’t worry, everthing will be just fine.
Angie,
So glad you had a relaxed season! Last year I did and just assumed we could take on a few more things this year without repercussion; oh, well; it will all work out in the end. Preschoolers are at such a great age to enjoy Christmas! Their innocent excitement is contagious!I love the idea of a birthday cake for Jesus; we participated in birthday parties for Jesus when my kids were younger and they always enjoyed that.
I think your idea of a rite of passage for your son is brilliant, and in light of my comments on your more recent post, definitely something worth dressing up for. I hope it goes well, and I hope it’s something that he can look back on fondly. Parental affirmation of adulthood is all to lacking in the lives of many young people, and is too important a thing to be so commonly forgotten or ignored.
Thanks, Frank! I’ll post details of how it all turns out when it’s done. We’re excited about how it is shaping up. I, too, would love to see more examples of parental affirmation of adulthood. We have read Raising a Modern Day Knight and Bar Barakah to get ideas, but we’re making up the ceremony as we go. We have our youth pastors involved and are hoping to see the idea spread through our church.