It's Never Too Early . . .

When Adele was a baby and I used to carry her and walk her to get her to sleep. I used to sing to her, "Daddy's Little Girl". How I used to think that song was so sappy, but now that I had a baby girl . . . it was the most sentimental song ever. It was soothing to her and to me too. There is a line from that song: "You're the spirit of Christmas, my star on the tree" , and throughout her childhood, Adele was just that.

She always got so excited with the approaching holidays. She would begin preparations weeks ahead. I remember she created a Christmas song book, tiny enough to hold in her hand... filled with the lyrics and little illustrations throughout it....holly adornments, bells, candy canes. And I remember the Christmas eve when she couldn't fall asleep (was it only one Christmas eve?!!!) so I laid on top of the covers next to her, and of course, I was fast asleep way ahead of her! And on Christmas mornings she would tear through her wrapped presents at the speed of light! If you paused to sneeze, forget it! You missed it!

Before she entered her teen years, she was commissioned to create a manger scene out of Sculpey (polymer clay in a multitude of colors), and she designed each piece on paper first, adjusting the pose and the clothing and colors of Sculpey to be just so. She did such a good job, we had her make a second set just for us!

The year she was in the cast of "A Wonderful Life" at NYSTI, one of the roles she played was an angel. To commemorate that, she baked dozens of little cakes in angel shaped pans to give to the cast members and crew.

As each of our children reached that "dreaded" age, when each began to question the existence of Santa Clause, I was fortunate to own a marvelous book, "Don't Forget the Star!" by George D. Durrant. I read this book, chapter by chapter to our children. This book follows Mr. Durrant's life and chronicles his personal experiences and perceptions of Christmas starting as a boy and progressing into manhood and then fatherhood. [In the book description on Amazon.com: "... George D. Durrant shares a beautiful message about Christmas through the various stage of life, from childhood to parenthood. The author shares wonderful anecdotes that everyone will enjoy, beginning with the youthful excitement of awaiting Santa Claus. Then come the growing pains of our teenage years when we don't always get the gifts we want. Those feelings give way to the special holiday experiences that come during a mission and courtship, and then the cherished yuletide moments we share when we have children of our own. Each experience is told with a touch of the author's delightfully wry humor, penetrating the heart as the true meaning of Christmas is revealed."] This book gave us all a new perspective and kept the magic of Christmas alive.
Adele is currently serving a mission in the Midwest. I knew that I wanted to mail out Christmas gifts to her early enough so that I wouldn't be a nervous wreck wondering if she would get them in time. She has a motto: "It's never too early!" In that spirit, I did almost all of my Christmas shopping early, leisurely browsing and taking time to relax on my excursions and enjoy the holiday music and the decorations.

I spent much of yesterday morning wrapping her gifts and thinking of her and all the joy she has been and continues to be. I was imagining her on Christmas morning....opening her gifts...and maybe at a slower pace now. I ended up mailing two packages this morning. One contained all the gifts for her to open on Christmas morning. The other box was an "Open me early" box. In it were things to enjoy in the days leading up to Christmas: a small artificial green tree, a string of multi-color lights, several boxes of ornaments (Disney Princesses, Care Bears, and assorted sweet treats), candy canes, tinsel, and yes.....the STAR!



Photo from Christmas 2005, Orlando