Clergy Family Confidential

So what does a clergy family do on Christmas Eve anyway? Well, our tradition is to pull out the crystal and silver and order Chinese food. It works for everyone: Bryna doesn’t have to cook, I get fed in between the two services, the table looks festive, and the kids pig out on sesame beef. Alright the kids don’t actually eat Chinese so we end up making the requisite Christmas Eve chicken nuggets. But they do gorge themselves on fortune cookies and those Chinese noodles that come with the wonton soup. So tonight after the 4pm pageant service we came home and waited for the guy from Pacific Palace to show up. Nothing says “Ho, ho, ho” like an order of General Tso’s chicken.

The hardest part for me is that Midnight Mass starts way past my bedtime. Whoever started this tradition clearly didn’t have kids. So I just had another cup of coffee. It wouldn’t be that bad except that the kids invariably come bounding into our room at 0-dark hundred. We’ve told them not to bother us until 7 am this year — we just put an alarm clock in their room. They can get their stockings before then but they’ve been ordered not to bother us until the magic number hits 7. I have a nagging feeling this edict will be utterly disobeyed.

The good news is that we can open all the gifts at a leisurely pace (if tearing off gift wrap like a ravenous pack of dogs can be considered leisurely) before I need to head back to church for the 10 am service.

In the words of the prophet Isaiah (I think), “Merry Christmas to all and to all a goodnight!” Off to the coffee pot.