A New Kind of Christmas?

Welcome home! Isn't Christmas break the best?

 You're so excited to be with your family, get caught up on sleep, see your friends, and just chill for that amazing 5-week break that only colleges give. :)

 But things are weird. There's tension. It's like you've come home to a different house. 

 How do I know? Because it's what happened to me. It's what happens to every college freshman who comes home for the first Christmas.

 And here's the deal: you've been away at college for about 4 months. Your family is used to you NOT being there. And by virtue of you being back, that's one extra person to feed, clean up after, include, and help. (Not that your parents mind this! But it's just a different dynamic.)

 And you are accustomed to pretty much doing as you please; you don't need to let anyone know when you're coming or going or what you're doing. You eat, sleep, shower, shop, watch movies, hang out with friends, and drink coffee whenever you please. 

 Until now.

 Now that you're home, you must work around the schedule of your dad who gets up at the crack of dawn or your sister who takes a shower at exactly 7:00 every morning. They want you to eat meals with them (who eats supper at 5:30?!?!?!) and go to bed at a "decent hour." (AKA: 10:00).

 What's a college girl home for Christmas to do?

 It's simple: grow up.

 Please don't get offended. Yet. :)

 I'm just saying that you're legally an adult. You've been given the freedoms of an adult for a semester. You've had certain responsibilities of an adult.

 So act like an adult at Christmas.

 YES you can relax. YES you can chill. YES you can watch 24 hours of Christmas movies.

 But you're an adult. And adults are mature enough to care not only about themselves but about other people. And I would encourage and challenge and--well--instruct you to BE an adult over Christmas break:
  • Think of others first.
  • Demonstrate that you've learned to make wise decisions.
  • Prove you're responsible.
  • Don't complain.
  • Make it your goal to relieve your parents of some stress over Christmas rather than create it.
  • Realize you don't live in a dorm for this break; you don't have the same relaxed schedule you had in college. Don't pout about it.
  • Thank your parents for clean clothes, food to eat, and a soft bed to sleep in.
  • TALK to your parents. Give them every detail, good and bad, about your semester. Ask them about their jobs, church, family, friends. Get back into the "family" groove.

Go out of your way to be kind, helpful, and involved. Your parents love for you to be home, but if you are only eating their food in the middle of the night, using your old bed to sleep when they're awake, and headed out again, you're not really with them. So treat your mom to coffee. Take your dad out for lunch. Being an adult means doing ADULT THINGS, including pursuing relationships with people you love.

 You've been home long enough now to get caught up on sleep and relieved of those exam stresses. So start helping out around the house:

 Ask your mom to give you a list of things to do tomorrow. Yes, I'm serious :)

 Ask how you can help with cooking, cleaning, Christmas shopping, or wrapping. Ask if there are relatives who need visiting, cards that need to be addressed, or errands that need to be run.

Here's why this concept works: you're in a transition with your parents right now. You're going from being their child and their dependent to a friend. Now in many ways you'll always be their little girl. (My mom still calls and checks on me about every 3 hours when I'm sick. And I love it :) But in other ways YOU need to take steps toward demonstrating you're really an adult. And willing to be one even when you're home for Christmas.

 So consider making your parents a beautiful breakfast tomorrow. Or volunteering to drive the carpool for your siblings. Or take the dog to the vet. Whatever needs doing, DO IT.

 It's a new kind of Christmas. But it's here to stay! REJOICE in this new season of life! 

 Being an adult is so much better than being a child!
Oh, and meet your old Sunday School teacher for coffee some time over Christmas break! Catch her up on your life! Let her know how much you love college and Jesus!

 @leslienotebook
myleslienotebook@gmail.com

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