Grateful for Christmas Part 2

I doubt that I'm only speaking for myself when I say that being excited about Christmas does not mean I don't give Thanksgiving its due diligence. On the contrary, every day I am grateful to be a citizen of a nation where I can choose how, when, and what I want to worship and celebrate. Every day I pour out prayers of gratitude to my Heavenly Father for blessings, seen and unseen, which He has granted me. The main thing that sets Thanksgiving apart is that I get to gather with extended family and eat amazing food, and I'm extra grateful for that opportunity.

The point I'm trying to make is that, besides the tradition of buying tons of food to stuff our faces with, Thanksgiving is probably the least-commercialized major holiday we celebrate in America, and I like it that way. Maybe it's because pumpkins aren't exactly holiday-specific and cornucopias are weird, but it's hard to have a pop-culture Thanksgiving.

At least for me, Thanksgiving is kind of a personal holiday. Sure, I celebrate it with my family, but in reality, it's a holiday which can only truly be observed in my heart. No matter how many "I'm thankful for . . . " lists I write, no matter how many times we go around the table at the family meal, and no matter how many handprint turkeys I make, I can never truly express my gratitude for my blessings in words. The only genuine celebration of Thanksgiving is a reverent recognition of my God, His works, and His gifts to me.

And you know what? That's all the more reason I'm excited to celebrate Christmas! All of my blessings are mine to claim because of Christ. Without Him, I would not have any joy. I would not have hope. I may not even have good relationships with family or friends. I wouldn't have the gospel. And--here's the real kicker--I wouldn't have this world to live on, or this country to live in, or holidays to celebrate, or any of the necessities and superfluities that abound in my life, without His creations, His gospel, and our Father's willingness to send Him to teach us, to love us, and to sacrifice Himself for us. I hope and pray that no matter the season, I can have a spirit of gratitude in my heart at all times, that I carry my faith in Christ with me, that I rejoice for His life every day.

I am thankful that I have faith in Christ and that I can celebrate Him anytime.

Grateful for Christmas Part 1

Author's Note: I am trying to be more concise in my writings. I have a few friends who choose their words wisely and therefore have to use very few of them, and I'm really jealous of that talent. This post ended up being really long, so I split it up into two parts to make myself feel better about my failed efforts in brevity. The first half contains most of my silly comments on the subject, while the second half is more sincere. 

Here we are again, in that blessed month of November when the whole world fusses at people who are already listening to Christmas music.

Here's the thing. I believe in moderation in all things, so I will usually listen to Christmas music as soon as I feel like it, but usually not exclusively until Thanksgiving is over. That's just the way it happens to play out in my life.

But I also believe in agency--freedom to choose. That means if I want to listen to Christmas songs in October or watch Elf or A Charlie Brown Christmas in May or June, then dadgummit I'm gonna do it!  And I get sad when people criticize that choice.

First, let me say that I disagree with a lot of things about the way Christmas has been commercialized and shoved in our faces super early in the year. For instance, I do think it's odd to see Christmas goodies set out right next to the Halloween clearance, though it's not because I wish there were Thanksgiving decorations (more about that later). I also think some so-called "Christmas songs" (like "Baby, It's Cold Outside," "Winter Wonderland," and three quarters of Justin Bieber's Christmas album--all of which I still love) would be more appropriately called winter songs since I, like many others, see Christmas itself as a celebration of the birth of Christ, not as a winter festival.

But the first cordial cherry of the season throws any objections I have to early Christmas candy out the door. And if you like giving gifts, why not get a head start on some of your shopping so that Christmas Eve can be spent with your family instead of out at the store, frantically searching for something? And when the weather starts to chill and it gets dark at 5 PM, some of us need music that makes us feel warm, happy, and nostalgic, and Christmas/winter music fits the bill just perfectly.

People are always going to have different circumstances and preferences that dictate how they celebrate holidays--and that's okay. So if you're one of those who feels like Christmas shouldn't even be talked about until the day after Thanksgiving, that's fine! I don't mind if you feel that way. Just don't get your panties in a wad if I want to listen to my Christmas/winter tunes a little earlier than you.

Truth be told, if Michael Bublé, Stevie Wonder, or even the Biebs would put out a good Thanksgiving album, I'd jam out to that all November with no problem. Until that day comes, though, I'll listen to Mr. Bublé's version of Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas any time I dern well please. On repeat, even. And I'll cry every time. Shamelessly.

Return

I can't believe how long it's been since I've blogged. I don't think I've been this long without writing since I began blogging. I'd apologize for not giving y'all anything to read, but that would sound pretentious, so I'll just go on from here.

I'm back in Mt. Airy, and things are . . . well, they just are. I'll be honest, even though this is the place I've spent the majority of my life, moving back here has been an experience full of difficult adjustments. I won't go into too much detail because I don't want to complain, but suffice it to say that it has just been hard. The job hunt especially has been slow, laborious, and not very profitable. I suppose I knew that might be the case here, but I thought that as soon as I got in town, the yellow brick road would be laid out at my feet and I could just skip along it and find my way to all the green. I still know this is the right place for me to be, but I just have to trust that Heavenly Father has better things in store for me than I'd planned for myself. That's one thing I've always had to keep re-learning in my life; I suppose I'm not done with that lesson yet.

Anyhow, there is some fantastic news, though. I started one job about a month ago--I'm helping with an after-school program at my old elementary school. It's not very many hours at all, so I'm still trying to get a second job, but I absolutely love it. I love having some semblance of a schedule, even though it's only 3 hours in the afternoon. I love feeling like I'm worth something because I am helping students who really need the extra love and academic support. And oh, the kids! Even the ones who are, shall we say, "holy terrors" are just so adorable. It amazes me how attached I've become even after just 3 weeks of working with them.

Bottom line: Even though things aren't working out like I had hoped, this job is one thing that I can say for sure is a godsend. It may take a lot longer to get my teacher certification, but I know now that it will be worth it, because--and this isn't bragging; it's just pure fact--I was made for this stuff.

Anyway, in other news, since the last time I wrote, I've met my nephew, melted when my niece said my name (multiple times), and fallen in love with our new dog. All but one of my siblings came home for the Autumn Leaves Festival last weekend, I'm planning to make a trip up to DC in the next couple of months, and I'm working on a new blog (the link to which I will post soon). So exciting things are happening, slowly but surely. I'll try to be a better blogger. I love you, reader.

Answer your phone! Answer your phone!

Sometimes when you're cleaning out all your email folders to get rid of things that aren't applicable to your life anymore, you find some really great surprises. This was one of those surprises that made my day completely. To my fantastic friend Mark, thanks for bringing a smile to my face even though I haven't seen yours in months.

I've been bitten

Let me just tell you how much I love The Amazing Spider-man. Because I do. I really, really love this movie, and not just because the actors are significantly less hokey than those in the original trilogy. Mostly, I'm writing this because I read this review and thought the author made very few valid points as to why this movie wasn't great. I'm including this obligatory warning that this post may contain spoilers, but I don't think I give anything away that isn't in the first trilogy anyway, so whatever.

Things I love about The Amazing Spider-man:

1. Showing, not telling

This movie was all about developing the characters to show what they have learned and what they believe in, rather than using some turn of phrase to just tell you. (Anyone who's ever taken any writing class ever should know that's the way you want to do things.) I adore the filmmakers' storyshowing capabilities.

My favorite example of this was that Uncle Ben was able to teach Peter about responsibility without what has become somewhat of a cliché line ("With great power comes great responsibility") that is going to be overused for centuries, dimming the luster of the truth in those profound words. Uncle Ben didn't say that Peter's father believed that only "with great power" came responsibility, but with any power. Any ability that we have to help other people in any way implies a moral obligation to do so. (This makes his lesson apply not just to Peter/Spiderman, but to every person on this planet. It's a great take-away for all of us.)  Peter then shows that he has learned that lesson without just quoting that same line back to someone else.

2. Peter is so real

To me, the beauty of this film is that it didn't try so hard to be true to the original as much as it took that framework and explored the characters' personalities more in depth and displayed beautifully human motives and reactions for everything in the story. I especially appreciated that Peter's relationships are the central motivating factors for everything he does. Even when it seems like he's being an idiot or a selfish punk, his actions are still deeply rooted in his quest of discovering what happened to his parents. They set that tone for the movie right from the very first scene where Peter is playing hide-and-seek with his father. (Super obvious foreshadowing, anyone?) I don't resent that tone for the film at all; to me it makes Peter a more well-rounded, realistic character. Additionally, I'm always a fan of media that portray family as the most important part of one's life, because I'm sappy and sentimental like that.

It's also worth noting that Andrew Garfield plays the awkward (and sometimes punkish) 17-year-old part incredibly well. The author of the review I referenced above says that he doesn't like this moping, brooding interpretation of Peter's character, but come on. 17 year old boy? Brooding? They're practically synonyms, especially once you take into account Peter's confusion about his parents' history. As for the genius/nerd factor, I think he is plenty nerdy, but he's not a geek, and that could irritate some people, but I think it's great. Even a genius can do stupid things, because a genius is still human. So, if you've ever known a teenager, I think you can appreciate his expertly-scripted mood swings and occasional human imperfection. Bottom line: I think Andrew Garfield is brilliant. That's all.

3. Gwen is so real (and strong and feminine and woman--not a wimpy girl, not a sex symbol, not acting like a man)

Emma Stone's character, Gwen, is so much easier to watch than Kirsten Dunst's helpless, high-pitched-screaming MJ in the first set of Spiderman movies. She is still a strong female character without having to be skanky or, to quote my 7th grade literature teacher, a "kickbutt" woman. (Just to clarify, I'm pretty sure when she said kickbutt, it was because it was the only classroom-appropriate synonym she could find for bada**.)

Now, I think Gwen kind of is a little kickbutt, but not because she is hyper-sexualized--or, as a polar opposite, macho, hardcore, and unfeminine. She is kickbutt because she's courageous. She's smart. She's concerned for the well-being of others. She knows what she can contribute and when to contribute it, but she knows when to back down and keep herself safe. My only reservation is that it is harder to imagine Emma Stone as a high schooler than it is to imagine the same for Andrew, but I'm willing to look past that since she played the part so well.

4. Transparency of Peter's identity

In this version of the story, Peter doesn't struggle nearly as much with his dilemma about whether or not to tell people (especially his love interest) who he is. Obviously, he doesn't parade it around all the time, but he's pretty straightforward with Gwen about it. You know what I think is most beautiful about it? It's that, instead of having two separate identities with two separate purposes, Peter is consistently himself, whether or not he's actually wearing the suit. The scene with the little boy on the bridge is another evidence for that, though I won't go into detail about what happens. That's the part that made me cry, though (Level 1).

Also, the way he shows Gwen that he's the masked web slinger is dang cute (again, because he shows her instead of telling her). LOVE IT.

5. Slow pacing

This reviewer also didn't like the snail-like approach to getting Spiderman's origin story out of the way, but it is exactly why I think this movie is so great. First of all, it is the only time that I'm aware of (though I haven't read all the comic books) that we start to learn anything about Peter's parents other than the fact that they are dead. Motivation is so key! Yeah, maybe Peter was kind of a lunkhead when he plucked the spiderwebs and made the spiders fall all over him, but I actually love that it wasn't a "wrong place at the wrong time" kind of accident, but that Peter is a man of action. He was actively seeking answers, and that's what got him into his situation.

6. Growth of Peter's character

Peter starts out as kind of an awkward skater kid, but he's still well-intentioned and extremely kind. Once he gets his Spidey powers, he's so obsessed with that (finding out what his father's life work was, etc.) that he forgets about other important things. After that, he is kind of a jerk for a little while (this is when he humiliates Flash), but then Uncle Ben dies and Peter is at his all-time low. He's "helping" the cops by catching all sorts of criminals, but his motivation is still revenge instead of overall good. When the Lizard starts terrorizing the city, though, Peter starts saving people, even before he realizes how responsible he is for the Lizard's existence. By the end, Peter has taken responsibility for helping people, simply because of his goodness and the ability he has to do so.

7. Lessons on identity

Something I didn't notice until the 2nd time I watched it: Peter never calls himself Spiderman until shortly after Gwen calls him Spiderman. That gave me chills. It has definitely been true in my life that sometimes, other people see who we are and what we are capable of so much better than we can see it in ourselves. Gwen saw all that Peter as Spiderman could accomplish even before he could. She essentially gave him the name.

Also, at the end, we hear Peter's literature teacher say that there is only one plot in every story ever told: "Who Am I?" To me, this is a beautifully poignant reminder of the fact that all of us--our heroes, our enemies, and we ourselves--have the opportunity, even the responsibility, to choose who we will be and how that will affect our actions. I think it also sets it up really well for a sequel, when Spiderman may decide, as in the 2nd film of the original trilogy, that he is "Spiderman no more." (I'm looking forward to that being shown instead of cheesily told, too.)

I think the best lesson on identity in the film, though, is Aunt Mae's comment about Peter being good. That's all any of us really need to try to be, and the rest just falls into place.

All of this culminates in my one birthday wish this year: I want a Peter Parker of my very own. Especially if his mouth can be as beautiful as Andrew Garfield's.