Savoring The Simplicity Of Childhood

Years ago when I used to babysit a lot—pre kiddos of my own—I used to buy them costumes after Halloween as their Christmas presents. I have always been frugal, even when I didn't have to be, and buying costumes at post-Halloween prices was a great way to get something the kids would love at a fraction of the price.

These days I do this for my own kiddos, though I don't hold out on them until Christmas ;-) I hit up our local Wal-Mart a few days after Halloween and snagged some sweet Batman, Superman, Spiderman, and Owlette costumes for $2.50-$5 each. They have already provided hours of entertainment, joy, and fun! Oh, and the cuteness factor is 😍😍😍

In addition, they've really been getting into Avengers movies, watching Spider-Man do backflips, stunt shows, and Jackie Chan. This has inspired them to take their costumed selves out onto the trampoline and do flips and tricks, and it's adorable.

Since my nose hasn't been plastered in my phone as much lately, it's these kinds of things that I'm learning to appreciate more. These are magical moments that won't last forever. Weeks ago I may have missed out on them, brushed them aside, or been too distracted to appreciate, but these are the moments I want ingrained in my memories:

• The giggles
• The dialogue they create
• How they insist upon calling each other by whatever character name they are currently pretending to be (even if they're pretending to be the same character!)
• The way Toby strikes a "superhero landing" pose every time he does a somersault
• Teddy calling himself "spiderweb" because he can never remember to say "Spider-Man," but then he'll pull off his mask and say, "Just kidding. It's me, Teddy!"

Last week I was mourning the loss of so many of our usual holiday activities—Sugar Cane Train rides, Da Maui Sleigh rides, the Christmas tree lighting ceremony at The Grand Wailea, watching Santa arrive on the beach—but you know what? To Toby and Teddy, at this stage of their lives, the littlest things are plenty magical, special, and fun. They are having a bast with their imaginations and so many other things, that it's okay not to have those other activities. We can still go look at Christmas lights and decorate and have parties with groups of close friends, and that's all we need.

I hope this Christmas is one for the books, not because we survived 2020 and it was weird, but because we took the time to soak in all the small, magical stuff—the simple joys of hot cocoa, popcorn, a Christmas movie, making crafts for gifts, decorating cookies, reading Christmas books, and following the star each day as it makes its way over the manger, guiding the wise men to Emanuel, God with us.

Filled with Hope,