The McKee family celebrated around a smaller-than-usual Thanksgiving table this year. Year-before-last there were eighteen gathered around three tables in our dining room, kitchen, and living room. Comparing the two years, I've discovered I prefer the larger Walton Family style of celebration.
"Sure," you say. "That makes sense, Maralee. After all, you're an extrovert times ten. You crave company."
Not so. Even though when I'm on radio, or on TV, or teaching, I operate as an extrovert, I'm somewhat of an introvert. I seek quiet. It's where I recharge. My idea of a crowd is one person more than Kent and our two boys, and, given the choice, I'll choose intimate gatherings over large ones.
Not so at Thanksgiving; something takes over me. I like to think of it as my own case of being touched by Holiday Magic. For me, the hours of mayhem with lots of people gathered in our little home are enchantment.
Then, in the calm of dusk, a few hours after the guests have left, Kent and I let our two boys enjoy leftovers while watching a DVD in the family room. Meanwhile, candles lit, Mom and Dad enjoy a quiet dinner for two, almost like a date night, made up of our own leftovers around the kitchen table.
The quiet bliss in that hour of being there with Kent and hearing the boys chuckling from the other room at whatever movie they're watching is made all the more rewarding and refreshing by the hustle-bustle earlier in the day.
Sometimes in a pessimistic hour it seems to me that there isn't much magic left in the world. Actually, there's plenty. The thing is whether it's at Christmas or in the middle of summer, it rarely shows up announced. We have to dream it, plan it, and work at it. Then it shows up to delight us and is no less wondrous than if it had been spontaneous.
All of that is to say, next year, my prayer and my plan, is that our table will be filled to overflow with family, new friends and old. The best magic is the magic we purpose.
With Thanksgiving in our rearview mirrors, our next destination is Christmas. Today, and for the next two Monday's, we'll focus on sincere, simple, savvy tips for interacting with graciousness in all your Christmas encounters!
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