christmas magic

I sort of knew that I was going to love Christmas this year. We were at Lowes in early November when they had some decorations up and when we walked past the lighted Christmas trees, Jack pointed with his teeny little index finger and said, "oohhh" with the sweetest inflection you can imagine.

He was seeing it for the first time and I kind of felt like I was, too.

 

He's been good about not messing with the tree at home. There are a few ornaments that he especially likes - A Winnie the Pooh book that opens and closes, the stuffed rabbit that we picked out for Rudy and the Christmon ornaments that my Nanny Johnson made. He's not rough with any of them, he just likes to sit in front of the tree and gently touch them, then he slowly scoots away and goes about his business.

This afternoon, I asked him if he wanted to look at some books and he sorted through his collection until he found The Polar Express and he brought it to me. I'd like to say that we snuggled up on the couch to read, but he's too busy for that. I read while he continued to play, looking up occasionally and coming close only when we got to the page with the wolves, where he always likes to touch each one.

I love seeing him soak this all up for the first time - admiring the ornaments, talking to the nutcracker, asking to read one of my favorite Christmas stories - and it makes me excited to see how differently he reacts each year. It makes me excited to involve him more and do more with him and see more with him. It makes me excited for him to know what it's really all about.

I always though the cheesiest statement of all was one that had anything to do with "seeing Christmas through the eyes of a child" but now I totally get it. And it's kind of the best thing ever.