when things don't go as projected

What is Christmas?
Is it family?
Mine is in fragmented pieces in scattered places. I'm on my own this year.
Is it presents?
Shipping Christmas cookies to the ends of the earth was too costly for even the one person who always made sure I had a gift to open Christmas morning.

What makes Christmas magical?
Is it the glowing tree adorned with ornaments and handmade trinkets that tell anecdotes of decades past? These store-bought baubles and bells are already falling off the limp, sagging branches.
Is it red cup peppermint lattés, hot cocoa by the fireside, spiked eggnog, watching holiday classics, or cuddling under warm blankets on snowy nights? This summer Christmas doesn't have any of that nostalgic charm.

So if not for presents, for family, for trees, if not for snow or for wintery things....

What is Christmas about?

Maybe it's not about giving purchased things, but about being generous with love.
Maybe it's not about the traditions and comforts of home, but about being comfortable with a new definition of home.
Maybe it's not only about being with family, but becoming family with those around me.

Messiah's first Christmas: new family, new home,
no evergreen glowing, and, probably, no snow.

Maybe the magic of Christmas is found in a baby's redefinition
of family and home and the things that I hold as a Christmastime tradition.

Maybe Christmas means, when things don't go as projected,
we learn to find beauty in the unexpected.