Nothing has gone as planned this Christmas. The flu hit our family hard. What started with my nephew a week ago hit my sister on Christmas Eve. Family plans were changed and cancelled. I didn't want a Christmas without my daughters. They couldn't make the date my family had rescheduled, so I had them over for Christmas Eve. It was a fun couple hours.
Then, in the early morning Christmas hours, two of my daughters began vomiting. Yep, the flu has hit our home. It's spreading from person to person wrecking all plans and making the holiday miserable.
My holiday spirit deflated, I am praying for God to lift spirits in our home. I let my three younger girls open gifts from my husband and me after they began to feel better. That seemed to lift spirits a bit.
We'll have next week for family get togethers. I'm bummed because it won't be the same. My oldest daughters already have plans they can't change. They are going to try to come over on Sunday. The rest of my family is planning a get together on New Year's Day.
But... My heart is heavy. It is rare for me to have my family all together. As my older two daughters, now adults, get busy with adult lives with jobs and finishing college and spouses and in-laws, time gathered together is more and more rare.
A few years ago, before my grandmother passed away, I began a Family Dinner day once or twice a month. It was a way to keep my family connected. My older children were blessed to grow up with their Grandmother and Great-Grandmother close to them. As they began to throw themselves into teenage lives of school, friends, and part-time jobs, they weren't seeing family as much. I knew their great-grandma was developing more serious health issues and time was short. So... I began family dinner days. It fizzled after a few months, mostly because I stopped pushing the issue.
I was wrong. The issue needs to be pushed. How easy is it for time to slip by? Busyness is not an excuse for lack of attention and time with loved ones. Loved ones... Family... Our time is limited.
If we are going to have family time, it should be on purpose.
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