It got off to a rocky start ... I awoke with stomach upset, feeling just awful (and no, I'm not pregnant ....) By evening, I felt better and not only made a delicious dinner but ate it -- not exactly with gusto, but I ate it (funny thing: chocolate still sounded good to me all day. Hmmm ... maybe that's not so funny; maybe that's just my twisted attachment.)
At any rate, we had our first dinner of Advent in the properly-decorated-dining-room (as opposed to the boring old kitchen, where we usually eat) and the joy of diving in to this beautiful liturgical season was evident on all faces, even on my I've-been-sick-today-and-I'm-so-exhausted-but-I-love-this-night face. Eldest Daughter was thrilled to light the first candle, Littlest Daughter puffed up with pride as she ceremonially presented the prayers to Middle Daughter, who led them with admirable reverence, and Littlest got to blow the candle out (a little too early, but, hey, it's hard to hold off on such an important task.)
The kids listened intently as Daddy started the readings from Bartholomew's Passage. He knew they were listening because he threw in his usual little check-ups: "As Bartholomew looked at his watch ...."
"Daaaddy!!" came the delighted reply. Yes, yes, they were paying attention but more than simply following along, they, like we, were glowingly content to be embarking once again on a set of family traditions that become more dear to us each year.
Tomorrow, we'll pull out the rest of the Advent books (I try to add at least one new one to our collection each year) and we'll get the ornaments ready for the Jesse Tree. Oh, how I love this time of year, and how I love the gift of liturgical seasons!
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