Advent Adventure

A Tradition Begins

After reading Karli Venable's blog post on their Advent wreath (to read for yourself, click here), I decided that I wanted our family to follow suit this year. Growing up in the United Methodist Church, it was tradition to have one every year during the Advent services. Different families would lead the congregation in the weekly liturgy and devotional for that particular Advent Sunday. I remember these times, especially when our family got a turn! I haven't done an Advent wreath at home, though, since I was itty-bitty, which therefore meant I had not done one since I was the parent and not the child. It is much easier being on the kid end, I believe!
So when Stephen woke up from his second of three naps today, I swept him up and we went right down the road to the little hometown shop where I was going to quickly purchase everything I needed and then  promptly head home to make turkey pot-pie with the leftover Thanksgiving turkey!
Well...they decided this year not to carry Christmas items, so I thought, "Ok, regroup. Stephen's doing well, so we are ok. This means we have to head to the mega store!" So off to Lowe's we went. After braving the intense wind, we made it inside only to discover that we would only be able to secure the wreath and not the candles for our little Advent tradition. "Bummer!" I thought, "This means we have to go to Walmart!"
Now, I already went to Walmart several times last week, which probably doubled my yearly Wally-World allotment, but off we went again. FYI for KC folks - the Stateline store does not have a great supply of candles! Standing in the candle aisle, I thought, "I can't believe it! I am going to have to go to Mardel's! I'm already committed to this little project." (For the non-KC readers, this meant a 15-minute ride further away from home.)
So off to Mardel's we went. With each trip in and out of the stores, Stephen would shriek as the wind whipped around him, but he was doing great. He was a real trooper as Mommy dragged him all around town! As I pulled into the parking lot, my heart sank. It was empty. "It's Sunday!" I almost cried. Of course a Christian store is closed on Sunday, but I remembered too late. "Oh, I'm saved!" I realized, "Hobby Lobby is right next door! They will have what I need!" Only a short-lived moment of joy ensued as I realized they were closed as well. "Of course they are! They are owned by Mr. Mardel! Well at least we didn't even get out of the car this time!" I said to Stephen who was still happy as a lark!
Frantically looking around the parking lot, my eyes were peeled searching for some store that would pull me out of the grand "adventure" I was having! Then I saw the letters "ED" through the myriad stores on the horizon. "Yes! BED, BATH & BEYOND!" I shouted.
Ok, let me interject one crucial point to this story. If you know me, you know that I practically don't go anywhere without calling first - just to make sure they're open or have what I'm searching for. Especially being a mom, I don't want to make needless trips as time is of the essence. But this is what happened to me today since I didn't take my cell phone with me. Remember, I was only going to be gone for 15 minutes max!
So we darted into the store and headed straight for the candles. The clerk asked me if I was looking for something specific, to which I said, "Yes! I need Advent candles - three purple, one pink, and one white." She looked confused and further questioned, "Advent - are those the brand?" My heart sank. Here in the hubbub of Christmas shopping was the epitome of the commercial season - a store stacked from floor to ceiling with stuff while the clientele were herded like cattle through the tiny aisles - and the understanding of Advent was absent.
Please know that I am not judging that poor girl! My husband didn't grow up in a traditional church, so I am aware that there are many who love Jesus and don't know that the Christmas season is the liturgical season called "Advent", but in the moment, it saddened my little heart. Here I was going from store to store, from shopping cart to shopping cart with my little one, for the purpose of our family engaging with a tradition that would both reach for and be touched by the heart of God. I found my candles, and I drove home pondering our whole "adventure". (Note: I bought double the amount of candles in efforts not to relive this afternoon's adventure next year!)
Then during supper, which is the only time we would be able to keep Cohen still long enough, we did our first Advent reading with our newly procured Advent wreath! After lighting the candle and moving on to read the verses, Cohen promptly blew the candle out. What a comedy of errors we were! After unsuccessfully reasoning with our independent and very strong-willed three-year-old, I realized that my romanticized image of Advent for our family this year would better resemble that old book/play/movie called The Best Christmas Pageant Ever! Well even the Herdman kids learned the meaning of the birth of Christ, so I guess there's hope for the Dunstans!