So Ward Christmas Parties are a visible reminder of exactly why it is that we joined the Mormon Church. We get together and cook amazing amounts of fattening food and dress up the entire gym of the church in lights and doilies and visible reminders of the "true meaning of Christmas." Then my husband and I sit back and watch as thousands of unmanageable children run like wild Commanches as their mothers chase them down trying to use "church worthy" tones and words to calm them down, and using amazing multi-tasking skills serve up four plates of food, run a toddler to the bathroom, and clean up a baby's spit up. Meanwhile most husbands are busy loading their plates with seconds and thirds of the food their wives only cook for such special occasions, and trying to look like their helping by occasional yelling out a child's name, all the while pleasantly ignoring their wives and screaming childrens actual demands.
Amidst this chaos I am asked to haul my "Christmas Cheer" up front and lead everyone in some carols. Of course everyone wants to sing carols after just having eaten until they feel sick so I spend the next 15 minutes making an absolute fool out of myself trying to get some audience participation. Following this entertaining bit of events the coordinator of this event which has aptly been named, "Family Traditions(the event, not the coordinator)," comes to the front and invites several scattered families to share their yearly traditions. Now don't get me wrong attending these soirees is absolutely fun, it's memorable and engaging and it's a great time to get together with other friends and families and enjoy brunch and Santa together. It's a perfect opportunity for my husband and I try to use our amazing skills we learned in couples therapy to communicate well and help each other control our one wild child and remind her that we must "respect others" during the program portion. It's a time to remember why families are important and why it is we are really celebrating the season, so I sit back and I watch, and I watch as love pours out from people who know each other to those that are visiting or have been missed for some time, I watch as children are being celebrated in a world where they are usually shunned, and I watch as small glimpses of perfection happen as I see my husband holding our daughter and encouraging her to not be scared of Santa by sitting on Santa's lap himself and showing how wonderful the jolly old man really is. Christmas is a time of miracles.