It is the day after Christmas and I am a mess! Too much food and too many family celebrations! It was non-stop for the entire weekend. The dress rehearsal took place Friday night for the Christmas Concert the next morning at the Orange SDA Church. I was asked a few weeks ago to help out. The fact that my daughter is serving as youth pastor made the answer a foregone conclusion.
I was not feeling quite well in the voice department, but we trudged through the rehearsal and the program the next morning with only minor glitches. It was a great time for all. The concert was followed by a family luncheon at my son’s house to celebrate my granddaughter’s 7th birthday. I had already spent Thursday at Disneyland celebrating her birthday as is our yearly tradition (with the accompanying food), but I was not prepared for the onslaught of food that awaited me for Sabbath lunch.
My granddaughter had requested a trip around the culinary world for her birthday—and that is exactly what she got. My daughter-in-law, who is a trained chef, made food from at least ten countries! There were at least 40 people there for lunch and we all ate to our heart’s content. Greek, Italian, Mexican, Swiss, Peruvian, Moroccan, Bolivian, Indian, American and other countries’ foods were represented. Almost all the food was gone by mid-afternoon. It was wonderful—topped only by the afternoon conversation with family and friends.
The evening took us to see some Disney fireworks (that were cancelled due to “high level winds” which I am convinced is Disneyland’s way of skipping their pyrotechnic displays whenever they choose to do it. After all, who can argue with “high level winds” even if one cannot feel a hint of “ground level winds”! Of course, the night would not have been complete for my children without a visit to Buca di Beppo’s, an Italian restaurant that is a favorite for my entire family, with one notable exception—me. There was a full table of “immigrant Italian food,” as the establishment describes their menu of hefty offerings. I did my best not to eat. I was not totally successful.
The next morning was Christmas and the morning brought a reading of the Nativity Story and gifts for the grandchildren. It was great morning on that basis alone. But we had company from out of town and breakfast was served—an endless supply of breakfast burritos! They were delicious. I cannot resist breakfast burritos! The day, however, was just beginning. At the conclusion of the nuclear family’s Christmas morning festivities we quickly got ready to join the extended family’s traditional children’s gift opening and gift exchange for the cousins and “old folks” (I am in that group now). As you can imagine by now, no family gathering is complete without food. So once again there was a house-full of plates and platters of pastries and entrees for all to enjoy prior to the gift exchange. Too much!
But the day was not over yet. I had made a commitment a few days prior to travel to Indio, California to visit my brother, Albert, and his family. It was fun spending some time with some members of my side of the family. It was only a matter of time however before I was led like a lemming to the dinner table where my sister-in-law had prepared some Mexican delicacies for me to sample—and by samples I mean piles of food. It was delicious!
By the time I got in my Prius later that evening my digestive system was beginning to go into survival mode. I am much better this morning, but food is not on my agenda in the near future. In spite of all the excesses and hectic schedules, I am blessed beyond measure to have family and friends. I got many hugs from loved ones and sat down to talk with people I had not seen for some time.
God is good all the time. The Gift keeps giving abundant grace flowing freely from the same heart of God that gifted humanity with that tiny little infant package lying in the trough in that little town of Bethlehem. May God’s desire for “Peace on Earth and Good Will to humanity” become a reality in our lives today as we anticipate the complete reality in the world made new.
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