years ago our friend Jeff Weening spent time at L'abri. he celebrated Christmas that year with others like him who had come to learn and read and talk in a chalet in Switzerland. he was there over Christmas and brought back a story that we tell almost anytime someone in our family receives a gift...
at L'abri, you don't just rush through the opening of packages. as each gift is opened, it's taken out and actually experienced. if it's a CD, you listen; if it's a book, maybe a chapter is read aloud; if it's a sweater, you pull it over your head and get comfortable. this means that the opening of presents can take a long time.
Mabel hasn't been to a Swiss chalet, but she's got a bit of that L'abri spirit in her. as we've been opening gifts, she isn't in any hurry to get to the next one. she happily plays and plays with what she's just opened. she received wooden food to go with her play kitchen and promptly began slicing bread and assembling sandwiches. then we feasted! we've been opening presents since Christmas Eve and will just finish today.
how much more sane is her approach? instead of gorging ourselves on too much stuff, we've had almost a week of quiet celebration--enjoying the snow and good coffee freshly roasted and blueberry coffeecake and french toast with sausage and trips to the wood pile and roasted pork loin with yummy mashed potatoes and long naps and birds just outside our windows.
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