Spirit of the Season

Today began horribly. Frustrated to the point of tears by the end Mass, going home to get back in bed and forget the morning ever happened kind of horribly. I reemerged in the afternoon feeling slightly better but not much. It is a few days until Christmas, however, and I needed to take Ava and Jocelyn out to get family Christmas gifts. A few years ago we started the tradition within our family that each of us would buy one gift for another family member - Ben buys a gift for Ava, Ava buys for Molly, etc. This way each person could spend a little more money on a nice gift rather than a bunch of small gifts. Ava bought a gift for Molly and Jocelyn was buying for Ben. It took some work but Jocelyn finally found a gift she's really excited to be giving her Daddy. On the way out of each store we visited Jocelyn would say "Merry Christmas!" to the cashier as we were leaving. Each time it brought a huge smile to the face of the person she had said it to. This afternoon Jocelyn reminded me of some of the real joys of the Christmas season. It's not about how many gifts you receive, or even how many you give; it matters that you were thoughtful in your gift-giving and that the gift shows how much you love and care for another person. This season is also about bringing joy to everyone - not just those we like but anyone we meet along the way. Jocelyn made those cashiers' days a little brighter with her Christmas cheer, and that is a gift in itself. I was so glad to end my day being reminded of the spirit of the season - a season of selflessness and love and kindness.