...of Christmas Past

Every year we have a Christmas carol sing along party. Here's a snap from 2 years ago. You can see Grandma holding on, and you can see that my better half is a truly talented musician because not only is he accomodating the would be band member but he does so while being used as a jungle gym. Obviously that was not how he'd planned to play.
 Nothing about this year's carol party (tonight) was as I'd planned when I planned it last month. Grandma isn't home, the gymnast now wants to be a piano soloist and I had a house full of people I didn't expect and most everyone I'd expected was missing. There were some loud boys, and small children and jelly filled cookies were carried where they don't belong (punctuation optional).
 But this is a Christmas story so you will not be surprised to hear that I went from dissappointed to resigned toleration (with a just little sainted martyrdom thrown in) to being the recipient (not the giver) of the first real Christmas cheer I'd felt this year bathed in those sweet young voices singing about that nativity. Then they went and sang more to my mother in her rehab room bringing her to thankful tears. You will not be surprised to hear this because at this time of year you can just see the happy ending coming -if it's the Hallmark channel, or a blog at least. But I didn't see it coming and it made me feel kinda giddy. And one of the girls, a younger one, suggested we all pray together and we did and by that time I was definitely 20 something again. Just as silly, just as hopeful, just as ready to go on and on about how good God is and all that.   One of the girls who sang to the end thanked me for opening my home to them and focusing on the "real" Christmas -and I forgot to tell them I hadn't. OK, definitely the best caroling party EH-VER.