‘Twas the Night Before Advent
with apologies to Clement Moore
'Twas the night before Advent, when all through the home
Not a creature was stirring, but only the mom;
She was busy bookmarking friends' blogs with such care,
Knowing that St. Nicholas soon would be there;
The children were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of advent crafts danced in Mom’s head
Her husband gave up on her hours ago,
As she said, “I’ll be there soon, only 40 more to go!”
When in the living room there arose such a clatter,
He sprang from the bed to see what was the matter.
Away to the door he flew like a flash,
Stumbling over his wife’s to-be-read book stash.
The glare of the computer screen gave an eerie glow
To the tumble of pages and craft glue below,
“Honey!” she cried, “I’ve only two hours!
To prepare this house and all of these towers!”
“It’s Advent!” she wailed, “It’s coming! I’m not ready!”
And she leaned on her husband so strong and so steady.
“And not only Advent - the kids will all ask us
About a whole host of Saints like St. John Damascus!
Saint Stephen! St. Lucy! St. Ambrose! St. John!
The Feasts of Saint Nicholas and the Immaculate Conception!
There’s only 4 weeks but I must do them all!
Now go back to bed while I decorate the hall
With advent logs and O Antiphon structures
and cards and stars and Jesse Tree pictures!"
So out to the kitchen table she flew,
With her laptop and craft books and glitter glue too.
And then, in a twinkling, she heard in her mind,
A still little voice, so tender and kind...
"Dear one, lest you forget the Reason,
Prayer and reflection are the soul of the season.
Crafts, unit studies, and books are all good
But don’t make their importance larger than you should.
They are not an end in themselves
Not something cute to decorate your shelves
But an outstanding way to bring glory to Me
To remind all to give thanks for all that they see
And most of all for the gift of my Son.”
And with that the voice left, and she sat there, stunned...
She thought of her husband and children upstairs,
And she closed the de Paola and Brett books with care.
With a smile on her lips and her heart feeling light.
She whispered, “Blessed Advent to all, and to all, a GOOD NIGHT!"
LOL! fantastic!!!
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