The short answer is because we had hoped to celebrate Christmas with Sarah when she came out to the area for Timothy and Daniel's graduation (master's degree) from the University of St. Francis in Joliet the first weekend of May.
The long answer is more complicated.
As I've previously written, our family has journeyed through a couple of very challenging years - and 2025 (as Timothy said) arrived like a wrecking ball.
Still, we were foolishly hopeful 2025 might be a big gentler on us.
Now we could not have known that in December 2024.
But by December 2024, the boys were finishing up master degree classes, Rebekah was hearing rumors of job layoffs, and I was moving from health issue to health issue.
All of this dumped our holiday spirit on the chopping block.
Timothy had put his tree up early so Midnight could enjoy it for her last few days.
Rebekah, who normally loves decorating for Christmas, couldn't muster up the desire for it.
So I put up the tree, starting December 26, my first day of the last few vacation days I still needed to take for 2024.
And I also got sick with whatever respiratory virus was buzzing around at that time.
In a haze of unwellness, and interspersed with playing and napping with Tiny, I put that tree up, the first time I had decorated a tree in years because my work and life schedule gobbled up the time for it.
It took three days that felt like three years. But the tree went up.
I was still sick by New Year's Eve, when I finally put my little tree up in my room.
I was still sick by our family Christmas on January 7, although the virus was on its way out the door.
And I was disappointed at losing the full enjoyment of the Christmas beauty in my house after a blur of months laced with disappointment.
So we made plans to leave Christmas intact, so we could enjoy it with Sarah on her birthday weekend - and she was excited about that, since we haven't spent Christmas together in years.
And then Sarah learned her son's senior prom is that weekend, so she won't be coming out after all.
And then we got hit with a string of more emergencies until we realized all the trees and all the Christmas decor still needed packing up.
So Rebekah and I did that on Friday night.
For as much as we'd like to finally enjoy Christmas, Christmas has moved on.
But memory is a funny thing.
We took few Christmas photos this year because the holiday season was so hard we forgot to take photos.
But I did snap this photo once I finally got the tree done and my mother's old nativity scene in place on top of one of the bookcases, along with puppy Tiny (who's gotten so big since then), all tuckered out.
The scene looks lovely, peaceful, serene, homey.
Looking at this photo, I realized I was completely wrong about missing Christmas.
Christmas had arrived just the same, even if no one felt the full enjoyment of it.
For the spirit of Christmas is true, even if we are not perceiving it.
Some things just ARE and are not based on our perception.
Christmas, for many people, symbolizes love, joy, peace, and - most importantly - hope for a weary, weary world.
May the true spirit of Christmas rest in our hearts today - and may we share that same spirit with all we meet as we venture forth into a new week.
Happy Monday!
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