Through a Glass, Darkly

Today is a day I have been looking forward to since August. Today is the day that I finished my last class for my last licensure requirement. Today I am free. And I have been telling people all day that the knowledge that is in my head as of today is the knowledge that I will take to my grave. And not any more. Because I refuse to learn anything ever again. The learning, it is over. My brain, it is sealed. I might even let it leak out of my ears.

I made pumpkin chocolate chip muffins for my classmates tonight, those undeserving undergraduates. Because I wanted somebody to celebrate with me. But it turns out that many of my coworkers remembered and were wonderful about it. Last night I had dinner with some fellow librarians, who were also happy and excited for me. And I had dinner with my book club tonight, right after class. They greeted me with hugs and a celebratory glass of wine. It has been a long day, but it turned out not to be so bad after all.

After the 8:30 am start to the Christmas music on Friday, there has been surprisingly little Christmas music played in our house. As we were driving to dinner tonight, I told Mike that I like it this way. I like not overdosing on it here at the beginning. I like, instead, taking the time to read my Advent book and say my Advent prayers. But mostly, I like having Advent as a time to actually prepare my heart. This entire fall, I just wanted December to get here. And now that it is here, I would like to take the time to actually enjoy it. I have been thinking about these good and perfect gifts that God gives us. Today those things were warm embraces, thoughtful answers, applause and muffins, new siding on the front of our house (and all that that entails), and, yes, that glass of white wine, given with great joy and celebration. Those things, those visible reminders of God’s blessings, inched me a little bit closer to the celebration of Christ’s birth and all that it means.