Weekend, a bout of toddler flu, and the countdown to Christmas

A truly delightful weekend, what with my sister and her boyfriend staying over in our home. I truly enjoyed their company. (They make such an entertaining couple somehow.) If only they had stayed a bit longer.

Sophie basked in the attention of Aunty Zoey and Uncle Sim of course. They were good for her. She was in a great mood. Ate and behaved pretty well whenever we went out for meals and such. Made no fuss when the adults continued to chill and chat long after our meals were over.

No weekend is complete without a special family outdoor activity that doesn't resemble week day activities - so we brought our guests to explore a new beach (at least to us) in the vicinity of our home. Not bad a beach - scenery and crowd - and its sand is really something. You will like the sand if you are in dire need of an intense foot scrub. Or a back scratch. Etc.  

Nice.

Sophie wanted to swim in the sea like "Peter and Jane". This was before she swallowed loads of salt water and got knocked over by a huge wave. 

Uncle Sim

Back to the other side of the island for the working week, Sophie was plagued by a viral flu. Sneezes, a running nose, nocturnal congestion, disrupted sleep, postnasal drip, coughing  - the works. This time, I wasn't too keen on drugless, natural remedies just because they take much longer to work, Sophie was in a lot of distress (she threw up a few times no thanks to the irritating phlegm and we had loads of laundry to do), and I am a little too tired and worn out. Haha. We brought her to a paediatrician who then prescribed us some medicine for her symptoms. At least they helped her (and us) to sleep well through the night - and she is a lot better today. Sleep is mother of all cures, I think. My take is this : do anything (within the lowest risk means) so that your toddler might shut down and sleep uninterruptedly. The body repairs and detoxifies while you aren't awake. And bouncing off walls.

Christmas arrives in less than 10 days time. Slightly more than a week in fact.

I think I must have mentioned before that I never did like the Christmas all that much. I always thought that it felt kind of depressing when you think Christmas songs in the mall, winter themed decorations when winter is so far away from the part of the globe I live in (sob), the guilty pressure to buy (and wrap) gifts when one is so broke at the end of the month and year (sorry if that sounds Scroogey), social gatherings, secret Santas, and year end. Or perhaps it has got nothing to do with any particular one of the mentioned elements per se - but simply the realisation that the year is coming to an end. And my perfectionistic regrets take centre stage. I regret that I have not achieved all that I wanted to achieve. I regret that the year did not turn out the way I wanted it to. (It never does, does it?) Believe it or not - I feel lonely. Loneliness lurks in the mind of the wanting person I am. And despite the so-called commercialisation of Christmas that emphasizes giving as well as receiving gifts - I know deep down inside that some much yearned for gifts might never be found under the Christmas tree.

What, I felt, helped me appreciate Christmas more this year was observing Advent as a mother.

First, observing Advent - meditating not just on "how" Jesus came to Earth (i.e. a virgin's baby in the manger) but also "why" He came - instead of just nose-diving into the year-end rush - makes December the 25th more purposeful and necessary. December the 25th was originally not Christian anyway. When the early Roman Church wanted to establish a day to commemorate Christ's birth, it timed it strategically to coincide with an existing pagan festival which celebrated the birthday of the sun god. This day was the winter solstice - the day with the least day light in the northern hemisphere - and so, we dream of a White Christmas. The original Roman reason for the season? Evangelising to the non-Christian masses. Converts wouldn't need to go without the jolly celebrations December the 25th used to imply : giving gifts, ceasing hostilities, suspending civic functions, and parties. They..... just had to focus on a different celebrity. Jesus Christ instead of the sun god! Now with Advent (which begins the 4th Sunday before Christmas) in place, Christmas Day - or December the 25th - becomes the conclusion of a season of slowing down. Slowing down to trace history, to be thankful of our own journeys of allowing Christ into our hearts, and to imagine what life could be when He returns for good. A season of Christian hope. I think then, rather than merely trying to put Christ in Christmas (which I honestly find quite hard to do most of the time), Advent helped me to acknowledge that Christ was never at Christmas in the first place... and it is OK not to feel particularly merry on December the 25th. However, December the 25th is the closure to the very first season of the Christian liturgical year. And so, I'll try to make the day count... before we move into "Ordinary Time". Advent is a season I would continue to observe for many years to come. As an individual as well as a family. Works in progress.

Secondly, seeing my toddler's wide-eyed wonder whenever we step into the mall (where Christmas decos and songs abound) makes me see the pagan festival in a different light. I don't mean that I'd like to celebrate Christmas the way the earliest people did. I mean, rather, that nearly the whole world observes Christmas day - and the love, fun, and warmth it brings. And so, why not make nice, magical childhood memories for my toddler out of innocent gingerbread houses, cinnamon cookies, balls, bells, stars on trees, stuffed snowmen, thoughtful presents, nolstalgic musical pieces, pretty sights, family time, giving to the poor, and Christmas cartoons? Yes, we must remember Christ's birth (and that's what Advent is for anyway) - but I guess we can't just Christianise Christmas and criticise those who intend to join the non-Christians in their good natured merry-making.

Perhaps Jesus who dined with the sinners and tax collectors would say "How do you do" to Santa Claus in the mall, tap his feet to "Jingle Bells", and pause to admire the works of art Christmas trees are nowadays. Just saying.

I don't mind if you don't agree with me on this. :)