Nearly every night for the past three years and eight months, Leah and I have cuddled and rocked in the rocking chair.
Tonight is started out pretty much the same: a story and a song, me rushing through because once she’s in bed I finally get my ME time.
She asked for a Christmas song, so I choose Away in a Manger.
“What’s a manger?” she asked when I was done singing.
I did my best to explain.
“Why did Jesus have to sleep in the hay?”
So I told her all about Mary and Joseph and that they were about to have a baby, but there wasn’t any where to stay, so they had to go into a barn, with the horses and cows and sheep (yuck, Leah said) and there they had baby Jesus. I told her about the shepherds and their visit from the angel. I told her about the new star and the three wise man who brought frankincense, (no, Leah, not Frankenstein) gold, and myrrh. I told her about the angels who sang beautiful songs because they were so happy that Jesus was born.
“Mom, why was everyone so happy that Jesus was born?”
I tried to tell her the best I could about how Jesus was special and he came here to save us so that we can live with Heavenly Father again, even though we make mistakes.
“Yeah, Mom, like when you dropped the egg on the floor. That was the worst mistake.” (I giggled, thinking that if that was the worst mistake I ever made, I’d be doing pretty good)
Then she asked me to sing her the songs that the angles sang to Jesus on the night that he was born.
So we sang. For twenty minutes, we sang. Each time I ended a song, she said, “more.” After one song, she snuggled in closer and said, “I’m lovin this.”
I sang, but kept thinking about how grateful I was that I got to have this moment with Leah. It wasn’t grand or anything, just rocking in the chair like every other night. But tonight, I taught Leah that Christmas isn’t about Santa or presents, but about the baby Jesus and what His life means to us.
I was lovin it too.
