Pajama Party
I love Thanksgiving.
I don’t mean to be insensitive to the troubled history of the holiday itself, but I do love Thanksgiving Day. I love the family and the gathering and the planning. I love the smells and the sounds. I love listening to the assorted conversations, the music of the laughter, the same comments and questions that I hear every year. “It sure smells like Thanksgiving in here!” “I hope there is enough food!” (There is always more than enough.) “Everything looks delicious!” “MOM! Can you help with the gravy?!) (My mom makes excellent gravy, I have never been able to do that.) “Everything is perfect!”.
And at Thanksgiving, it seems like everything is perfect. Surrounded by family, with so many blessings to count.
Except this year, Thanksgiving was stressful. Covid interfered with people’s plans, and it took a while for anyone to be sure if they were coming or not. Had someone been exposed? Is it safe? Who have we been in contact with? (Spoiler: everybody is fine.) It is difficult to plan a large meal when you are never sure how many are coming. I ended up with a delightful day with my sister, Child #2, and her wonderful family, and a surprise visit from my brother (Child #3), but I missed those that couldn’t be there. And I have to say, I didn’t enjoy the stress of it.
Therefore, we have decided to do Christmas a bit differently. We are going to get up and open gifts, have a simple but tasty breakfast, and then….relax. We plan on staying in our jammies all day and just enjoying each other and the day. We are going to watch movies and play games. And for Christmas Dinner, we will get some nice meat and cheese and bread and make sandwiches. We will have fruit and veggie trays, maybe some deviled eggs, maybe even some fudge or some toffee.
Because, you see, that will help to shift the focus of the holiday from stress and a big meal back to what it really is about. I believe that God sent Jesus to Earth to teach us how to love one another. After all, Christ was sent here out of love, and we are told to love one another just as God loved us. So even if you don’t believe in Christ, you can believe in the love that he represents. And that is what this season should be about. So that is how we are spending Christmas Day.
If you are reading this, you are invited. Would you like to come to our pajama party? Feel free to show up in pajamas. Come because you love me, come because you have nothing else to do, come because you have nowhere else to go, come because we haven’t seen each other in years, come because you want to enjoy the simplicity of a pajama day. We can drink hot chocolate, eat a sandwich, chat, watch a movie, play a game. And celebrate love, in Comfort and Joy.
Let me know if you need my address.
Peace,
Kat