Christmas Thoughts...

As I stop for a moment to reflect on this Christmas season...the first thing that comes to mind is "I'm too busy".  By the time Dec. 19 gets here, I will have had 17 performances that have been keeping me gone most nights from my kids.  BUT, last night there was a moment...I had a "moment".  One that stopped me in my tracks.  My high school show choir performed at the nursing home in town for a family Christmas dinner where the residents' families came to share the evening with them.  We sang our normal set of songs in each dining room and each time we got to "O Holy Night"...there were tears from some family members and some residents.  It's hard not to be moved by this scene. My vibrant, beautiful, energetic teenagers singing to these "beautiful" people who were once able to do what they are doing and are no longer able.  Then came that other "moment" where my teenagers surprise me as they always do.  Our performance was over...they were free to leave.  BUT instead...they asked if we could go caroling through the hallways at the nursing home so that the people who weren't able to come to the dinner would get to hear caroling too.  WOW.

So...we sang through the hallways and the looks on some of the residents faces were enough to make us all choke back the tears.  If they had the chance I think they might have told us not to take the days for granted...to live each day to it's fullest...be "in the moment".  I think that any one of them would have been thankful to be busy this Christmas and so I will be thankful to be busy this Christmas.  I'll enjoy being able to share the songs of the season with anyone who wants to listen.  God bless our "beautiful" older generation and God bless our youth.