I count my first Christmas as a mom as the one right before The Boy was born. I was great with child and his birth was just two weeks away. Of course I didn’t know that at the time.
I was in school and my backpack stuck out as far as my stomach. I was all kinds of uncomfortable and fit into a total of two pairs of shoes. A travesty indeed. My wedding ring having ceased to fit long before that point.
In preparation for finals, that December, a friend and I would walk the halls studying. It helped break the monotony of the hours we were spending with our noses in our books. As we walked and walked, in a circle, a few professors began questioning if I was trying to hurry labor along. While tempting, surely being in labor would get me out of finals, that wasn’t my intent. In my mind I still had more than a month left.
I made it through finals and was so thankful to have a break from school. For the Christmas holiday we went to David’s sisters house and spent a few nights there.
To say I was uncomfortable was an understatement. I thought my back was going to break. Then my eyes started puffing up. I have weird sensitive skin and occasionally my eyelids will swell up. It is (and was) so unpleasant. Not to mention everything else that was swollen on my person.
It was during this time, of Christmas, that I gained a new appreciation for Mary. I know my struggles were small compared to hers. I didn’t have to ride any animals in our travels and I didn’t bear my son in a manger. But in my own way I was able to relate to her like I never have before. I was beginning to comprehend what it means to sacrifice for our children. Much like she sacrificed so much for hers. I seemed to be able to draw from her example enough courage to press on. I’ll always treasure that Christmas, even if it was the most uncomfortable in my existence, because of those sweet reflections I had. It was unlike any other Christmas I’d had, or have had since.
*In this special month of December I’ll be taking time to look back at some of my favorite Christmas memories*
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