Christmas Mircales

I sort of had a 3 part Christmas miracle.  The first part happened on Christmas Eve.  I called my mother to check in and see if she still needed me to run an errand for her.  She proceeded to snap at me for not already having completed the errand.  I told her not to yell at me, and she promptly hung up the phone.  "Christmas just wouldn't be Christmas without Rosalie snapping at someone " I remarked to Steve.  And then it happened, she called me back a few minutes later and apologized.  I think that is the first time in my entire life that she did that.  I was shocked.  No tears.  Just amazement.

Christmas Eve was spent with friends first, and then family.  We celebrate a sort of Polish style Christmas Eve (Wagilia).  We don't do all the customs, but we don't eat meat, we do eat cardboard, I mean oplatek, which is a piece of bread pressed with a holy picture on the surface and 11 other vegetarian dishes (apple rice, potato puff, potatoe pierogi, sauerkraut pierogi, babka,  fried fish, shrimp cocktail, salmon croquettes, carrot souffle, spinach balls, cole slaw); a dish for each apostle.  The oplatek is broken amongst all the guests and we say something in Polish when doing so that I can neither pronounce, spell, or remember at this time. We eat, exchange gifts, and sing happy birthday to the hostess.  Yeah - you got it, for my sister's birthday, we allow her to host our semi-formal dinner for around 25 of us.  We're such considerate folk.  It was a pleasant evening, and Sophia and Zach enjoyed receiving their presents from their cousins.

Christmas day we went to Church for the first time in a long time as a family, and it was a beautiful.  The priest who did our prayer service made a b-line for us, I think he was surprised to see us.  I have been having a hard time feeling motivated to go, since Steve doesn't go.  But he went yesterday, and it was such a wonderful gift to give me, and thus my Christmas miracle #2. 

The service was nice. The service was fairly crowded, as most holy day services are at any church, and the homily was about belief.  Sophia initially tried to have a conversation with me, I told her to hush, and she asked me why we cannot talk in Church.  I told her we were supposed to listen to the priest.  She went on to quietly play with her Molly American Girl doll (fresh from Santa's stash of goodies left at the house.) The priest referred to Virginia O'Hanlon's letter to the New York Sun back in 1897.   When the priest quoted this famous quote: "Is there a Santa Claus?", Sophia showed me that she certainly did as I told her.  The question, asked rhetorically, was responded to by my little blue eyed girl petting her Molly doll, with a clear as a bell, and audible to all "YES!!!!".  The congregation all looked around, found the originator, and went on to applaud her.  I  laughed at the fact that she did what I told her.  Perhaps this is a miracle too?  Father Greg's momentum was sort of ruined.  But it was the best service I had ever been to, for personal reasons of course.

The kids were extremely well behaved throughout the rest of the service.  Zach looked over at me during one part of the Mass and requested "milk" spontaneously.  I was so excited that he requested an item he wanted when it wasn't in sight.  A HUGE deal - and reportable to the psychologist at his school for sure.  Unfortunately it was not in sight, nor was it in church at all - I had braved the Christian service world by not bringing any snacks to Church - including drinks.  Alas, he was OK with that.    Amen.

It was a terrific Christmas.   Hope yours was too.