Christmas Update
I promised I would write more about our magical Christmas. One of the best parts about Christmas – in addition to being around Tess and the kids – is that I didn’t have to think about work. (Although the Blackberry is always at arms length… recently read in the Wall Street Journal: "Blackberries are great because they set us free from the office, but trap us forever.”) Point is, my mind needs time away from work right now to get perspective. As I think I mentioned before, usually at Christmas and heading into New Years I have a gleeful euphoria as new beginnings approach. But oddly enough, not this time.
But the holidays were great… I like the feeling of knowing I don’t have to do anything the next day other than being around the family. I planned my shopping well enough in advance that I was home from work at a decent time on the 23rd and didn’t need to do any shopping on the 24th. Instead, on the Saturday Sebastian and I went for a ride across Hong Kong’s Victoria Harbour, had a McDonald’s picnic next to the harbour and then returned home.
That evening the six of us headed out to Union Church (above at night) for a Christmas Eve dinner. Sela and Carys looked incredibly cute in their dresses and white capes. Everyone was remarkably well behaved, too. As we drove home, Hong Kong was ablaze in a sea of lights.
Sebastian was hilarious, resisting going to bed until, "oh, time to go to bed" he would say and just like that marched off to his bed. I settled in to listen to Christmas Carols as I wrapped a few presents and sipped rum & egg nog. Later that night I posted on the blog. Those last few hours were magical, in a strange fatigued way, as I got a chance to reflect on the season and years gone by.
Christmas morning we were awake at a decent hour. The trips are too young to understand Christmas but still appreciated opening a few surprises. Excited Sebastian was territorial about the gifts. All presents were his presents. The magical moment for Seb, is not watching him open the gifts, it’s his growing appreciation for the magic of Christmas.
For example, the other day while playing with the accompanying picture Sebastian said, "I love Christmas." This was long before the presents or stockings, and it was very sweet to hear.
Christmas Day we had friends (Dale & Steph) over from Church: mom and dad plus four boys between 1.5 and nine years old. They arrived about 4 PM and left about 10:30 PM. Pretty much the entire time everyone was racing at Mach 5. At dinner for the first time ever Sebastian prayed openly in public. With eleven people in front of him – ranging from 1.5 to 43 years old – he thanked God for dinner, his friends, Jesus and gifts. Maybe he didn’t say it quite as succinctly as that, but he still prayed. That was magical.
Dale and I had a cigar on the balcony. Finally, once everyone left, Sebastian headed off to bed… and THAT was magical, too. After saying his evening prayers, which were very short after the earlier investment in words, he started to softly sing Christmas Carols. Usually his songs are blasted out at the top of his lungs. But lying in bed with the triplets fast asleep in the same room, he very softly sang. For some reason I had the digital video camera in my hands. I placed it on the ladder of Seb’s bunk bed and turned it on, recording the sound of Seb’s soft, singing voice in the darkness.
I stood there for a few minutes in time, struck by Sebastian’s love for Christmas, his sweet, quiet voice, his innocence. That was when I wondered, "will this moment ever return?" Eventually the singing ceased, the camera faded from black to black, and we all said "good night."
