The Mid-Major Holidays

As a child, every holiday is a big deal. They are celebrated at school with various observances; teachers make special bulletin boards; sometimes a parade is involved.

As an adult, there are certain holidays that remain "major" - namely Christmas (the presents), Thanksgiving (the food), and one's birthday (again, the presents). However, other holidays tend to shift to "mid-major" status. These would include Halloween, Easter, Valentine's Day, Independence Day, etc. You remember they are coming up, you perhaps send a card or attend a friendly function, but they don't really figure into your plans too much. Then there are the minor holidays, still important but mostly remembered because the mail doesn't come and the banks are closed: President's Day, MLK Jr. Day, Columbus Day.

When one crosses over to parenthood, suddenly all the holidays are a big deal again. And the mid-major holidays somehow turn into a huge amount of work.

Observe:
Halloween involves decoration of the home, visit to the pumpkin patch, mutilation of the pumpkin, research and selection of the costume, purchase of the candy, scheduling of the trick-or-treat festivities with other families, attendance at the church "fall festival", involvement with the pre-school party, and extensive picture-taking throughout. Notice we have not even gone trick-or-treating yet.

Easter involves decoration of the home, purchase of adorable Easter outfits, preparation and decoration of eggs, embarkation upon Easter egg hunt, assemblage and presentation of Easter baskets, participation in church Easter festivities also to include Easter egg hunt, and extensive picture-taking throughout. Notice we have not even mentioned the celebration of the resurrection of Christ yet.

And now, Valentine's Day. The latest holiday to be promoted to mid-major status. This blessed day is no longer relegated to besotted couples. It is now the territory of pre-school aged children. "Why do we give Valentines, Mommy?" asks my four-year-old. "Your guess is as good as mine," is the response I'd like to give. "So that we can show our friends how much we like them," is my answer.

So, we select the valentines. (Bonus points if candy is attached.) We assemble the valentines. We prepare the box our friends' valentines will be placed in. We purchase additional valentines to give as gifts to our children. We make and decorate valentine cupcakes. We purchase and wear special valentine shirts. Valentine's Day turns into Valentine's Weekend. Somewhere in the process Mommy and Daddy manage to sneak away for a Valentine's lunch and the bringing home of roses. Extensive picture-taking throughout.

There's a lot of love in the air. On to St. Patrick's Day.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2016995&id=1384386249&l=b18a7

A Precious Reminder

Yesterday, baby Caitie had to have "a procedure". That's what I called it, because it made it less scary than "operation" or "surgery". And in reality, procedure is probably also more accurate, because having a myringotomy (drain fluid and insert ear tubes) and an adenoidectomy (removal of adenoids), is not really that big of a deal. It's actually one of the most routine surgeries performed on thousands of toddlers in one-day surgery centers all over the country. In fact, Jacob had it done three years ago, and Caitlin had the ear tubes part last year.

Still. When it came time to go to the hospital (at 5:45 a.m.), I was more than a little nervous. As I held my little girl in my arms, wrapped in a blanket fresh from the warmer, and watched her slowly grow calm and quiet thanks to her "happy juice," and whispered one more prayer for her protection, I was reminded of just how precious she is to me.

Caitlin is a beautiful little girl. She has the bluest eyes, the blondest hair, the happiest gap-toothed smile. She loves to sing, to talk, to hold her bunny and suck her left thumb. She loves Jakie, and Daddy, and most of all, Mommy. And I can't believe how much I love her back.

So when the gentle nurse came to take Caitie to the OR, I was definitely blinking back tears and reminding myself that everything was going to be just fine and that God was watching over her. One last kiss, one last "I love you!" and thankfully she was already too dopey to be anxious.

I'm grateful that there was a kind older man in the family waiting room whose wife was having cataract surgery, who kept me company until Jason arrived from dropping Jacob off at school. Within minutes it seemed, Dr. Sawyer was there to say that everything had gone perfectly. And then we were able to go to the recovery room and hold a very grumpy girl who definitely did not want an IV in her wrist or a heart monitor on her toe.

While I'm hopeful that this will be the last ENT procedure either of my kids will need, I'm grateful for the reminder that they are a precious gift. Sometimes it takes a little drama to open our eyes to all the blessings that are present in our lives each day.

Adenoidectomy - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adenoidectomy

Starting Out

For some time now, I have been contemplating a blog, but there were a number of obstacles, real and imagined, to be overcome.

1. I am ridiculously busy. Husband, home, two small children, full-time job, part-time job, and multiple church involvements.

2. I hesitate to share most of my personal views with the world. I am more conservative than most of my liberal-leaning friends, yet more liberal than my conservative-leaning friends. I am not entirely comfortable sharing my "Christian worldview" in case others don't share my perspective. If I talk about my kids, am I alienating those who aren't parents? If I talk about my job, how do the stay-at-home moms feel?

3. I have a continual fear that something I say will be misconstrued. [closely related to item 2] Sometimes my sarcasm just doesn't register the way it's intended. Sometimes I come across as arrogant and other times as a person in serious need of a self-image boost, and oddly enough both are probably true.

But in the end, I've decided just to be myself, as genuine as possible, as true to myself as I can manage, and to document my life and my family's comings and goings in a new way. So, enjoy, cyber-readers, and don't hold it against me.


Jessica