Well, I had a wonderful Christmas & New Year's vacation...still enjoying the last day of my New Year's vacation. I started to realize as I bustling around my house this morning all the things that happened over Christmas vacation & came to that awful realization that I'm growing up. Growing up was that thing that you always wanted to do when you were little & now that it is happening full force, I realize that all the advice about savoring your youth was wisdom from adults who had already lived the part of life I'm now living. Hindsight is 20/20 they say...
So, without further ado, *some signs (that I recognized at Christmas/New Years) that I'm growing up:
-getting two Dustbusters is not a bad thing; nor is the conversation about which one really would work best for me("I mean, do you really think you need a wet/dry function or would you rather have the one with better suction; that would work well with pet hair?"). Gone are the days when getting cleaning items was a bad thing. I can even say with very little shame that I text my Mom the other day exclaiming over the joys of having a Dustbuster...yep, I was excited over something that cleans...which leads me to another sign...
-Using Christmas money to buy a vacuum cleaner. That's right, I spent valuable & highly coveted Christmas money on another cleaning tool. And let me tell you that I am so excited with my new vacuum cleaner. That thing has amazing suction power & I get excited running it all over my floors & marveling at how well it sucks up dirt, dust & pet hair. *sigh* I really am becoming my Mother...he-he.
-I also got a really big high from cleaning & putting up all my Christmas things. Not because I was excited to take it all down, more because I got such a thrill from the sense of having my house organized & in order. Before I took it all down I actually tried to rationalize the idea of keeping up my Christmas tree year round & just decorating it for the season at hand - I realized that was bordering on a little much, so down came the tree. I realize that has very little to do with me growing up & more with me being completely anal...but that's okay too. I also realize that rationalizing that keeping the tree up year round is crazy is also part of growing up. That's cool. I can handle it.
-Knowing that ringing in the New Year with a 13 year old & your grandmother & having only your dog to kiss when the clock strikes 12 is a blessing, because there are some people in the world that are truly all alone ; not just when a new year starts, but every day. Realizing that while I may feel alone sometimes, I am actually surrounded by family & friends that love me. Also realizing that very fact - I get that means that I'm growing up.
-Most importantly, seeing that the magic of Christmas comes from something different. Granted, I will always love the lights, the decorations, the smells of Christmas, the TV specials, the parties...I love it all. I also see that the true magic of Christmas is that God would send his only son - the only son he ever had - as a baby knowing that one day he would sacrifice himself to redeem a world that; for the most part, didn't even acknowledge his arrival that night in Bethlehem. A world that would scorn him, hate him, crucify him on a cross & even today try to reject that he rose from the dead. The true joy of Christmas is that the greatest gift we ever could receive; the greatest gift we will ever receive if we choose to is the wonder of a child born of a virgin, a child whose birth was celebrated by shepherds, a child who received prophetic gifts of gold, frankincense & myrrh from wise men from the East...a child that would live a life as both God & man & save the world from it's sins.
I'm glad I'm growing up. It's hard to do at times, surely, but knowing that I know & have received the salvation & love of the Savior of the world lets me know that every step I take as I grow up is guided. Every turn the road I'm on takes is dictated by the Creator of the world. I am never alone & my life has a plan...even if I may only be able to see a little bit at a time.
Hope you had a magical & blessed Christmas & that you will have a wonderful New Year.
No comments:
Post a Comment