On The Third Day of Christmas

“JG, why are you still playing Christmas music?” Amelia the 2nd Grade Niece inquired yesterday. “Christmas is over.”

“Actually, Amelia, Christmas is not over. In the church calendar, Christmas actually starts on Christmas day and lasts for the twelve days after Christmas until January 6th when we mark the wise men coming to visit Jesus…although the wise men probably didn’t visit Jesus until he was two-years-old and he probably wasn’t in a stable…but still…we remember their coming on January 6th—Epiphany—and that’s the end of Christmas. It’s twelve days of Christmas. That’s where the song comes from.”

“Oh! I get it now!...I can actually sing the whole Twelve Days of Christmas in the right order…I should learn how to play it on the piano…” Amelia continued happily talking. And when we arrived at my aunt’s house, she did just that. She sat down and figured out how to play the entire song on the piano—silently singing it in her head—leaving the rest of the family to hear only the repetition of notes, wonder what day she was on, and hope that she would quickly arrive at five golden rings since she’d be on the homestretch from there.

Amelia is such a delightful child.

I’m not sure what I’ve done to deserve her affection, but I currently hold it and will not complain.

When she arrived in Florida yesterday, Amelia hugged me and stuck by my side as if she hadn’t seen me for weeks. We spent Christmas Eve together.

When I got back to G-mama’s house after going to see Star Wars this morning, Amelia ran into my room and hugged me as if she hadn’t seen me for weeks. We spent a good bit of time together yesterday.

When we went to walk on the beach with the family today, Amelia stayed by my side, held my hand, made up songs with me, and talked with me as if we hadn’t seen each other for weeks. We had lunch together today.

If I’m honest, then I will admit that I wasn’t overly excited about going to the beach today because I wanted to take a solid nap in the World’s Most Comfortable Bed. Yet I knew something to be true:

If I didn’t go to the beach with my sister’s family, then Amelia would be sad. And it won’t always be that way. Amelia won’t always think that Aunt Dee with her super hairy legs is super cool. Instead of sitting on the couch snuggling with me while absentmindedly playing with the leg hair that hasn’t been shaved or waxed since August, Amelia will one day want to play on her phone or spend time with the friends that she thinks are the greatest people in the world.

So I went to the beach.
And neither Amelia nor I were sad.
And when we came back to G-mama’s house, Amelia played the twelve days of Christmas on the pump organ that used to belong to my great-grandmother.
And I watched as a beautiful little soul celebrated the third day of Christmas surrounded by a family who adores her.
And I thought about Jesus once being a child like her—full of energy and life—not seeing outward appearances but looking straight into eyes and hearts of love.
And I smiled.