Advent and waiting

The Annunciation by Fra Fillippo Lippi

Advent is about waiting right?


 I think I, like most everyone else, like to glance over this truth. Christmas always seems ridiculously busy as people try to cram in as much festive festivities as possible. It always feels rushed. We have a huge to-do list and don't worry so much about waiting as fitting things in and getting things done. 


 This year my advent is a little different. I should be waiting patiently not only for the Christ child but my own precious baby in the beginning of January. But not only am I fighting the pressure to rush around for Christmas but the added pressure to rush and prepare for this baby. All I feel is time flying by and the anxious feeling of being completely unprepared for both events all in a haze of preggo mind that can barely recall what I went into the other room to retrieve. 


 But I started thinking about this waiting stuff the other day. Advent calls us to wait. There must be a reason for that. In every aspect of our lives however, we don't see the need to wait. Just to use an example, it seems we always want to rush our children. They have to sit, walk, talk, as soon as possible. We need to put them in mini adult clothes without enjoying a little cuddly baby stage complete with baby gowns and sleepers. Pregnancy is rushed with scheduled c-sections and inductions. We can't stand waiting for anything that may be out of our control.


I know in the course of my day I get frustrated by what I call "toddler speed" numberless times. Sometimes how long it takes to get three small children in snow suits, mitts, hats, and boots takes such an excruciatingly long time I could scream. I get tired of waiting for them to finish a meal so I can clean up and move on. Even walking up stairs behind them can sometimes throw me into an impatient fit. But in not waiting I know I'm taking away the sense of accomplishment they get by putting on their own boots, or watching them enjoy with great zeal their very chocolatety cookie, or giving them an extra minute to get in the house from the car so they can look up at the moon and comment on how "prettiful" it is. I know these aren't life changing things to wait for but they are the little things in my day that I can start waiting for. 


I'm also getting painfully slow at accomplishing my usual amount of "stuff" in a day due to my size and general lack of energy, but maybe its time to start slowing down and waiting a little more patiently for my baby and even find a little time to think about the coming of THE baby.