There is a need every so often to turn off the world and cleanse one’s pallet with a good Christmas movie.
I recently watched the 2003 movie Love Actually. I know what you’re thinking: “Keep up, lady!”
It's an unusual type of holiday movie as about eight different relationships and different kinds of love play out the week before Christmas in London, England.
One tiny part of one scene — almost a toss away — had me weeping buckets and had me wondering: What is love, actually?
If you remember the movie, one family is rushing off to the Christmas concert where the children all have a role and the mom or grandma had made costumes and one says something to the effect of: “We can’t be late, I worked for months on that octopus’s costume for the nativity scene. That’s a lot of legs.”
Then you see the poor little kid in this hideous eight-legged costume trying to get all his parts in and out of the car.
What hit me was all the years and all the shepherd, angel, donkey costumes my mom (and yours) made for me for the Sunday School play. I am confident she really was thrilled to be doing that. I’m also sure she was doing it in the dim light of early morning before anyone else was awake for the day.
Creating a halo out of a hanger with tinsel? That was love!
Moms and dads around the globe are doing similar things everyday.
Cupcakes for the school bake sale (and now they have to be gluten-free, nut-free and pre-approved by the heath unit, I assume). They do that at the same time they are making something for the office potluck, buying Secret Santa gifts and taking part in the cookie exchange.
Multi-tasking to keep everyone happy. That is love.
Every Christmas Eve, my dad went out and placed straw around the lawn so Santa’s reindeer could lay down and he put out some carrots for a snack. Making magical memories. That was love.
When we were growing up and leaving home and words didn’t always come easy, Dad checked the car tires, checked the oil and refilled the windshield washer fluid. That was love,too.
There were the years we didn’t have much money (although my sister and I never knew that) I remember sitting around the living room hammering open mixed nuts in shells and digging the nuts out with sewing needles. It was loud and messy. It took a lot of effort for not much payoff. It seems lame now, but that was also love.
Over the years there were amazing gifts, I am sure, but aside from a special walking/talking doll and the year I got my own writing desk, I barely remember them.
I do remember our tacky aluminum Christmas tree which we over-tinselled and which I thought was beyond beautiful. We had these little blow-up reindeer that sat underneath. It was likely the definition of tacky and I would give anything to see those again.
Parents doing the best they could with what they had. That is love!
When your co-worker cleans off your snow-covered windshield or a neighbour shovels your sidewalk for you, that's also love, or at least affection.
If your friends insist you send a message when you get home after a night out, that is love.
If you are lucky enough to have a pet waiting for you at the door, pure love!
Whenever someone is kind, listens to you vent, offers some advice or a hug or a compliment... Priceless love!
Love is actually everywhere, if we just pay attention.
