Anticipation

It's the first day of December! Tonight we began one of my kids' favorite advent traditions - the little chocolate advent calendars from Trader Joe's. OK - it's not the most spiritual of traditions, nor the healthiest! But it is something that my girls have come to love, and for a mom who has a hard time ever pulling off the family traditions and rituals that she dreams of - it's a simple and fun part of our lives.

But along with the chocolate, I brought out my favorite Christmas book to read with my youngest daughter. Julie Vivas' The Nativity makes me teary-eyed almost every time I read it. It somehow grounds the Christmas story for me, makes it beautiful and earthy and real. Her paintings captivate me - her vision of Mary, Joseph, baby Jesus, the angels, the shepherds, and the wise men speak volumes, just by themselves. I absolutely love the Angel Gabriel, with tattered wings and worn out old work boots, sitting at a table with Mary, talking over cups of tea or coffee!

I'm so glad that some people have the ability to tell this story, to tell the story, in a way that somehow by-passes the trappings, the baggage, the distractions that often invade my perceptions during a more traditional retelling of the story. Tonight I am reminded that there is a reason to stop, to look, to wait and to anticipate. Advent has begun.