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"The gift of the Christmas we give our kids" by Jake Frost (CatholicMom.com) Copyright 2018 Jake Frost. All rights reserved.[/caption] I am in full “Christmas Preparation Mode,” smack-dab in the middle of a tinsel tornado: wrapping, cleaning, decorating, baking, ordering, and trying to remember all the things I’ve forgotten. I love it, and I’m exhausted by it. It is the best of times. It is the worst of times. It is the jingliest of times. The good, the part that I love, is doing things with family:  sledding, skating, reading stories out loud, baking, trimming the tree, the fun holiday chain texts and e-mailed photos and Facebook posts with my far-flung brothers and sisters, telephone calls, Christmas cards, and cinnamon rolls with the kids in front of the fire. Among the not-so-fun aspects are the lists — the never-ending lists of ever-multiplying chores, the plans I never seem able to get to. And that closet I was determined to get cleaned out and organized before the holidays this year. Truth be told, if I could get it I’d take some more sleep, too. I dream of lying in bed with visions of sugar plums dancing in my head. But as a parent you learn quickly that sugarplums don’t dance on their own. Somebody has to light the fire in Rudolph’s nose. Or something like that. Like I said, I could use a little more sleep. Until then, there is coffee. And in those precious patches of lucidity brought on by caffeine-induced cognitive clarity, I try to remind myself to focus on the moments I have: to enjoy them, be grateful for them, and to not let them slip away in pining for the moments I don’t have. There is always so much to do, and never enough time, never enough money. But Christmas is about the joy and love we put into it. It’s no gift to our kids if we do it with stress and short tempers. The gift of the Christmas we give our kids is in enjoying what we do, doing Christmas with our kids, and enjoying doing it with them. At the first Christmas angels came to announce a Christmas message of peace and joy. May that peace and joy be in all of our homes this Christmas. Merry Christmas everyone!
Copyright 2018 Jake Frost

About the Author

Jake Frost

Jake Frost

Jake Frost is a husband, father of five, attorney, and author of seven books, including the fantasy novel The Light of Caliburn (winner of an honorable mention from the Catholic Media Association), collections of humorous family stories ( Catholic Dad and Catholic Dad 2), poetry (most recently the award winning Wings Upon the Unseen Gust), and a children’s book he also illustrated, The Happy Jar.