That December 31 is the last day of the year depends on your perspective. From a liturgical standpoint, of course, the year ended in November; if you celebrate the Chinese New Year, then the year has yet to end. Technicalities aside, it is always is an event for me to put away last year's daily planner/calendar (don't ever throw them away- they're like mini-journals!), and break out the new one. Maybe it's the Catholic in me, but it almost seems like there should be a ritual for it- thumbing through the now worn pages, looking back at the last January and feeling like it was ages, not months, ago.
2008 really stretched my notions of what I could do. Most of the events lead to much joy in my life: There was the providential hiring at a new job, and conclusion of an old one. A surprise pregnancy. Montessori training in Cleveland when I was 7 months pregnant. The start of a new adolescent Montessori program here in the Napa Valley, and the start of a school year. And finally, a return to teaching after maternity leave, with Charles on my hip. So many blessings!
My Christmas reflections this year naturally dwelt on motherhood, and what Mary might have encountered. Modern motherhood and babyhood entails lots of "stuff"- burp rags, night lights, ointments, strollers, car seats, toys that vibrate when you pull on them, toys that do everything else when you pull on them, nursery decor.
And then here is Mary, with NONE of the above. And experiencing motherhood in a stable, with no ordinary baby (though no baby is really ordinary). I remember, at the end of September, getting my October "Magnificat" in the mail. Charles was two weeks old. On the cover of the devotional was Mary, holding a happy and radiant-looking baby Jesus. She looked so confident! In my sleep-deprived stupor I showed the cover to my husband and laughed wearily. We both pondered how well she slept through the night, if baby Jesus' diapers ever failed the way our baby's did sometimes, if she had any trouble nursing.
I've come out of those reflections realizing, on yet another level, the great humanity of Christianity: that God became a little, helpless newborn and experienced the milestones of infancy- all of which, for God, must be tiny on a divine level. The first coos, holding his head up, learning how to crawl. God had to do these things, and His participation (I usually hate that word) in our tiny human activities elevates humanity, and reaffirms it.
For the first time I've also realized that many portrayals of the Nativity don't show Jesus as a newborn, but rather as more of a three or four month-old. He's a little bigger than a newborn, and not as introverted and "new." When we realize how fragile a newborn is, and how unused to this world- legs and arms folded in, eyes closed- then Jesus' humanity becomes all the more significant.
The realities of newborn life, paired with yesterday's feast- on the traditional calendar- of the CIrcumcision, remind us that "mere" humanity is a wonderful thing. May 2009 bring blessings to you all, and to all human life on earth, both born and unborn. And when the year is through, may your planner be full of wonderful things.
Happy new year, Bene! And to your hubby and little Charles too. I too am attached to my old planners and calendars. Sorry to hear of the dairy allergy. Cooking gluten-free at home is not much trouble, but going out is bothersome. Having to eat dairy-free seems more impossible to me, but we are very hooked on our milk and cheeses. Glad to hear the baby is thriving.
Posted by: LeeAnn | January 03, 2009 at 01:45 PM