Nana Holds from Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power

Welcome to Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power! By the time you read this, I should be back home from Cabo and ready to write about the moments as well as some fears that were conquered, but that’s for next week! Let me just say thank you so much for allowing me to share this powerfully transforming series with you. I hope you will pass it on, especially to anyone you know who is having to parent their children’s child/children. Grab your coffee and come on in.

So it’s almost Christmastime and this year I didn’t start decorating until the second week of December. In years past, I’ve begun as early as the day after Thanksgiving – I had that much stuff and needed to get an early start! But I’ve received several life-changing revelations about the whole CHRISTmas season and have finally reached a very happy balance as I strive more and more to give and practice the true gifts of the season: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

Anyway, Bryden went with his mother and her parents for his monthly two-night visit, and then went to see his grandmother up north, so he was gone a little over a week. While he was gone, George and I had the most fun we’ve ever had decorating the house for the season. There truly is something about having a child to experience this season with that brings out the child in us. George used to dread, and I mean dread decorating the yard, so much so that he pays someone else to do it, and only because he knows how much joy it brings me. Don’t you just love a house all lit up and festive?

At George’s insistence, we got a couple new yard decorations to add to what we already had, purchases that were motivated by the gift of Bryden. It took our guy who does it three different sessions to get them all up in a way that wouldn’t blow all the fuses! But oh, how beautiful it was. We were so excited for Bryden to come home and see the front yard! In fact, we couldn’t wait so we texted a picture to Michelle to show him!

Every tree twinkled and every section of the front yard lit up with animated deer, a bear from the North Pole, signs galore, and finally, snoopy dressed like Santa, placed in the center of the yard inviting joy and peace. I’m giggling as I remember the Facebook posts and messages I received from people who had driven by and been struck with joy by the twinkling scene playing out in our front yard.

The inside looked every bit as magical. The staircase looked ethereal with two types of garland, bows and lights. On the fireplace stood a handmade wooden pole painted with Christmas motif adorned with brass hooks to hold the little boxes with numbers that invited us to count down the days before Christmas.

I spent hours and hours and I don’t think I have enjoyed myself this much in a long, long time. As a matter of fact, I can emphatically, unequivocally say I haven’t enjoyed decorating this much since my son was little. OMG, I just got the goose bumps! Here is another example of restoring what the locust has stolen: precious times of decorating with and/or for my son as he got older and went the wrong way! Whew, that was a good one.

Anyway, we couldn’t wait for Bryden to come home. I will never, ever forget the reward of it all that came bursting from his little heart out to me when he saw it all: “Nana, you did this all for me?”

Oh, the joy of transformation . . .

Evinda