This Christmas break was much different than expected as far from any others we have experienced so far. It has been sooo incredible to be home with my favorite people in the whole world for 11 days, but it has been exhausting as well taking care of 2 all by myself. Matt has surgery on his lower back on Friday December 23rd. We had done our best to have the surgery before Christmas based on timing and requirements of being off of work, and this worked out best sot hat most of the recuperating time he was off anyways. Surgery went well and we believe the surgery was ultimately a success. In the long run, he will definitely be in a lot less pain and more comfortable and the surgery was meant to be a permanent fix. However, the recover period he has endured a lot of pain and discomfort, however it is a different kind of pain resulting from the surgery, which is a good thing:) He has been sleeping almost all of break so it has been taxing but worth it in the long run. There have been days where I enjoyed every second of it and has some of the best moments with G and M. I would be definitely sugar coating things, however if I said that every day this break has been as wonderful and amazing as a few have been. Some have been tough and exhausting, however when you need family most they always come through. Gavin go to go to sleepover at Alex's and then with Nick and Jack so he so looked forward to those days and seemed to have a lot of fun.
With all of the out of the ordinary events this Christmas break, there were a few very ordinary ones and we did have a fantastic Christmas. Gavin really got into Christmas this year and had quite the expressions when he opened presents. We heard comments like "Sweet, " "Yes," "oh my gosh," "this is exactly what I wanted," and my favorite "Santa must have known I was a good boy because he got exactly what was on my list." If there was an Olympic sport for fastest present opener, Gavin would be a likely contender. He would ogle over a present for a minute and then move onto the next. We as parents had to remember that this is very typical of a 4 1/2 year old and it wasn't disrespectful, although at times we wanted him to just enjoy one thing at a time:) Mya was pretty much the exact opposite, she would open a few and be so excited for those that she did not feel the need to continue unwrapping:) It was very neat to see the different dynamics based on their age:)
One of the proudest things this year for us was Gavin wanting to use some of his money to buy a present for someone else. Yes, this was parent initiated, but he really did a great job with it:) He has 3 jars to collect his quarters/allowance in. One is that he can spend as he pleases, one is that he has to save for something special and one is a donation. One day while shopping, we saw a tree with hand decorated ornaments that had present ideas and a child's gender and age. We picked otu 2 together and we decided that Gavin could use his donation money to buy the present. He collected his quarters and was able to help otu with the purchase. He loves to share with others that he used his money to buy a present for a girl that was not going to get very many presents. During the process there were many 'teachable moments' that we talked about how fortunate we were as a family, reasons why other children may not get as many presents and what we could do to help. Some of his ideas were so thoughtful and we were truly proud of how much he understood and how much compassion one little boy has.
Another teachable moment came when we were driving one day getting ready to have a daycare party with a present exchange. I was sharing with Gavin that one of his greatest friends Grace might not be at the party because she would be at school but that he could give her the present when she got home. In a totally nonchalant, automatic response, he simply said "Mom I don't care about other people's presents. I only care about my own present." Wow... how do you respond??? I took it that we hadn't taught him about the true meaning of Christmas and that this time was also about sharing and spending time with family and presents were the extra:) I was so glad that he had said that to only me, but here I am sharing it with the world. However I have come to understand that this is mostly a parental fault as well as an appropriate developmental feeling. However, moments like these are perfect real life situations that can initiate conversations to help children better understand and for us to raise the type of child we want Gavin to become with a strong grasp on values.
We truly enjoyed the magic of Christmas, the family time, and the simplicity of life. I remember sitting with Gavin and Mya on Christmas Eve as Matt was sitting in the recliner sleeping (1 day post surgery), Christmas music playing, dark outside, Christmas tree lit up and music playing the in the background. It was a total nestalgic moment that I hope to not soon forget. The feeling of happiness and togetherness and being thankful for all that we have when we have families close to us dealing with tragedy. Those that know me I am sure are asking yourselves if I was crying, and YES of course the tears were streaming:) What a wonderful heartwarming moment during the Christmas season doing nothing more than sitting with my children:)
My wish for everyone in 2012 is simple; please take the time to enjoy look around and reflect on how lucky we are to have what we have!
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