Week 95: Christmas Eve
Anticipation and learning to step back…
Each Sunday, my wife and I cook and eat a meal together — intentionally. Every Friday, I’ll be sharing our experience here in this space. I want to see the growth that will come in our marriage because of this. I hope you enjoy our story. You can find last week’s post here.
A long drive lay ahead of us, but when you’re with family, the drives tend to seem less grueling. Or maybe that’s just because I wasn’t the one driving. Instead I was watching a movie in the backseat. Details schmetails.
A four-hour drive back to Sarah’s parents house, then another hour drive to her brother’s house. That’s one thing about the holidays — there’s always someplace to be. We had already gone to coffee together the day before (where we took the picture above) and been to a party in the neighborhood where Sarah grew up. At all times we were with family. We had already done so much, but the holidays had only just begun.
Christmas Eve is such a palpable time of anticipation. I felt it to an even higher degree when I was a kid with thoughts of reindeer dancing in my mind. But I still feel it today too. The anticipation of that same glow on the faces of my niece and nephew. The thoughts of special moments with dear loved ones. Oh — and the food.
Sometimes the anticipation breeds excitement manifesting itself in smiles and whispered adulations. At other times, it takes the form of worry and rushing to prepare everything. It’s that latter form that threatens to trip me up. My mind jumps ahead to the next thing and the next thing and the next. Like signs on a roadway. When one is passed it’s on to the next one.
But though the holidays give ample amounts of fodder for anxious minds, they also bring a call to slow down and enjoy the moments before you and the people beside you. I learned that anew this year.
Giving Up the Wheel
I’ve never felt a car move like that. I was driving four of us down to the house of Sarah’s oldest brother. It was snowing, and the roads were icy.
My dad and I had just put on snow tires for the car, so that meant the tires were now impervious to winter’s traps, right? Wrong!
The car was sliding all over the place.
It got to the point where I did not feel comfortable. We still had 45 minutes left in our trip, but I couldn’t keep going like that. I had to admit it was beyond me. Thankfully, Dale Susan Schoettle were behind us. So we stopped at a gas station and my father-in-law took the wheel.
He got us safely home. The snow was falling as we walked in the door on Christmas Eve night.
Sometimes our many tasks seem to be more than we can handle. Sometimes we can’t shut off the to-do list in our brain. Other times, there’s one big task that’s zapping our energy.
I️, for one, am learning the importance of relinquishing control — stepping back when I need to so that I can experience simple moments with those I love. I wish you the same. May your days be filled with the blissful anticipation of Christmas Eve rather than the worrisome hustle and bustle.
Blessings!
