Awaiting Advent

Thanksgiving 2010 is one for the books. It was a wonderful day of family and friends gathered from near and far here at the Homestead and thanks to cell phones and Skype, we got a couple more gathered in as well. Today I did nothing spectacular other than play Auntie to two overnight visitors and I ventured no farther than the garage to empty the recycling and snap a photo of these remaining, resilient leaves refusing to 'leaf' their perch. It's been a good day to hunker down and nurse the headache that I've held at bay all week long that came with the family cold we've been passing around since last weekend.

As I recuperate from the busyness of the week, I am prepping for my favorite season of the church year - Advent. It's the beginning of the calendar for the Christian Church and I've come to a place where I wonder how much we really celebrate and savor this special four week season culminating in Christmas. This morning as my niece and nephew played, we talked about counting down to Christmas using Advent calendars, which is a traditional gift I give them every year at Thanksgiving. I didn't go into deep theology with them, but discussed some of my most cherished memories of having to wait until the third Sunday in Advent to begin to decorate the house for Christmas when their daddy and I were their age. Now, my parents weren't and aren't Christmas cranks - indeed, some of you readers may know my father works as a secret agent for the North Pole! However, when we were kids, at the end of the Thanksgiving Parade, when we saw Santa arrive in Herald Square, we understood that Christmas was coming - not that Christmas was here. There was still a full month to go about our business of school, swim team, scouts and other activities all the while beginning to make room for the coming 12 days of Christmas which starts on December 25th.
Over the next four weeks, my posts may take on a more reflective and introspective nature as my studies and schedules allow. Why? Quite simple. I'll be making my case for Advent; why we wait, how we wait and what it is we are all waiting for.