A Grand Day

Merry Christmas!  Tawei + Deedee sure had a grand day.  At first Tawei was afraid of some of the cars, but soon he got acquainted with them.  Clary + I played with them all afternoon.  Then we had our own dinner - not much but we did have pineapple + chicken + stuffing.  Clary opened his bottle of gin and it was really smooth.  It was grand and we sang all the Christmas carols in all the books we could find.  -  Annette, December 1943

Annette's entry reminds me of how the simplest things can be the best things.  From her words, you would never know she was living in a war zone.  You would never know that the presents they gave the kids were discovered in the attic of their new house, left behind by a previous missionary family.  Tawei was afraid of the cars, because, in his young 2-year-old life, he had seen very few cars!  You would never know that Clary had figured out how to make his own gin (as well as beer), because it was too difficult to get alcohol.

All you know is that they were happy.  They played and ate and sang carols and loved each other.  That's all they needed. 

Deep down, we are more similar than we are different.  It's not about elaborate celebrations or complicated dinner menus.  Basically, it just comes down to sharing and connecting with one another.  So this year, whether fancy or simple, I wish you a peaceful, joyous holiday.