Tonight we were putting up the Christmas tree in anticipation of Greg coming home. I was fluffing the branches on our "realistic" fake tree when I realized that all the bulbs on the bottom were all black and well, not lit. For some reason the idea of going bulb to bulb to find the burnt out one, only to find that they all are burnt out did not make me happy. In fact it irritated me.
All I could think about was the fact that this is finals week, my house is a wreck because I did homework this weekend instead of cleaning it. On top of that it is the 6th of December and I don't have my Christmas decorations up - or my Christmas shopping done. And the pinnacle of my lack of time was the stupid tree with it's burnt out lights.
Will came up behind me and started in on a story that I pretended I cared about. It was not that I don't care about my son, it was simply that I was too busy to pay attention. He kept repeating the same phrase over and over and over - so I finally looked up to ask him to stop and think it through. It was not a gesture of kindness, but of frustration.
As I looked up I was ashamed. Here stood my little man with the lights of the Christmas tree reflecting in his chocolate pudding eyes, so in awe that he could not form a cohesive sentence. I realized as I looked at my son, that in his eyes those lights - the ones that worked - on that "realistic" fake tree were the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. The reflection of the lights were beautiful from this angle. His face was glowing and tiny pins of light were playing with the brown in his eyes. It took my breath away.
Why is it that as adults we are constantly seeing only the flaws? Why do I see frustration and disappointment in the beauty that is Christmas? I encourage everyone to stop and look into the eyes of a child, see the lights reflecting in their eyes. Listen to the excitement in their voice.
Be in awe of what they mean to you with the light of Christmas in their eyes.
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