Is it Advent already?

O.K., now that it's December 3, and almost the second Sunday already, I can't deny it any longer. We are indeed in the Season of Advent. And believe me, denying it I tried. Because if it is Advent, then it's going to be Christmas soon. And if it's Christmas, then Dear Husband is going to deploy soon. Soo... I hope my kids will forgive me that they got their Advent calendar one day late. And that there is no decoration up yet besides our Advent wreath (Ha! At least we got that!).
I have a feeling though that I should switch strategies and embrace everything Advent. By focusing more on the coming of Christmas, I might not notice so much the tell-tale sign of the coming of deployment. As there were:

• moodiness (one moment I want to hug Dear Husband and not let him go ever, the next moment I snap at him and act like he deserves to have his head cut off)
  
• disarray (house, garage, schedule)
• this persistent pain in my neck that I have come to known as the physical sign that I'm hurting emotionally.

You can call me a "seasoned" military wife now, since I have been through all of that before and it's not surprising to me. That doesn't mean though that I can eliminate it completely. It's just like pregnancy, I suppose. You know the hormones make you moody, but knowing only helps you to control it a little, it doesn't make your moodiness go away.

Even though I can't make the pre-deployment blues go away, from now on I will put more effort into preparing myself and my family for the birth of Christ, by

• focusing on words and deeds of love (for my family, strangers, and even myself)
  
• cleaning up my spiritual house (through the Sacrament of Reconciliation and prayer)
• consciously offering up any suffering for the people who are uncared for in our society

I hope all of you have a HAPPY Advent season!