Christmas came. On Christmas Eve, we spent the time at my parent's place. It was Anna's first time at my parent's house and she quickly greeted my family. She immediately took a liking to my mom and helped her straightaway in the kitchen. Later, she was down in my parent's basement with my mom and she was enamored with some Barbie dolls my mom had in her office. My mom and I gave each other a look... We knew. Anna would go home with the beautiful Barbie dressed in a glamorous sparkling pink dress. We just had to wrap it without her knowing! I went back upstairs with Anna and my mom snuck the doll into her room. It was quickly wrapped and we were excited for her to open this special treasure!
My family opened gifts that night and I wasn't certain how she would react. Our family doesn't do a small Christmas. No matter how much we suggested to just 'keep it simple,' it was no use. Thankfully, she handled it well. All the gift opening seemed to exhaust her (and I think she was still a bit jet lagged). We finally got to the doll. As she opened it, she didn't see what it was right away. When she turned it over, she became so visibly surprised and happy! Mom and I exchanged smiles.
We headed home before it got too late and Anna went to bed right away. We all had a great time and enjoyed our evening together.
Then came Christmas Day.
Remember the title??? Here comes the drama.
Anna developed a crush. Like a really super huge crush... on my brother-in-law. We tried and tried to tell her that he had a girlfriend. She was going to be coming to Christmas dinner and we didn't want her heart to be unprepared. However, we think the translation must have been poor... or perhaps she thought we were teasing her by saying, "Oh, he has a girlfriend (meaning her)!" That is NOT what we wanted to portray, but she clearly did not understand what we were trying to tell her.
It all went down at the dinner table.
His girlfriend was running late, so we decided to start dinner without her. I don't even think we had a plate set for her, so I'm sure Anna didn't suspect another visitor. We ate and laughed and Anna was clearly a giddy teenager. Then it happened. That moment that we thought could be a possibility due to the lack of translation, but way worse than we imagined. I am pretty sure it happened in slow motion... The girlfriend entered.
My brother-in-law got up to greet her at the door.
Anna was a bit confused at first, but caught on VERY quickly when she saw the visitor give my brother-in-law a hug and pull a chair up next to him.
Before we could even introduce her to Anna, the connection was made.
I could physically feel her heartbreak.
I can't even imagine how she felt! It was nobody's fault, we tried the very best we could to warn her, and yet... my heart broke for her broken heart! "She's such a normal teenage girl," kept running through my mind!
How embarrassed she must have felt!
How disappointing!
That night, I didn't see her as a needy child; rather, I saw her as a typical teenage girl with a crush on a boy!!
She retreated. No tears, just a complete and utter shut down. It was probably the longest "pouty/shut-down" moment from her the entire time she was with us, but I could TOTALLY understand it! I was not mad. In fact, I retreated with her. We sat in the living room together and I stroked her hair. I translated a couple things to her... but mostly we just sat quietly.
Everyone gave us space. Then a bit later, my mother-in-law joined us. She started making the mood much lighter and I could feel Anna's attitude shifting.
A little while later, Josh came in.
Then Aaron & Katie. Aaron brought the guitar and started strumming a bit. She loved it and was soon sitting on the floor with him, learning how to play some chords. All of this cheered her more and more. She was the center of our attention - and she was loving it! Marc joined us, and when we were all laughing again... My brother-in-law and his girlfriend entered. For just a moment, Anna went quiet... but then, like a switch went off... she was completely fine.
Not only did she become a normal teenage girl in my eyes, but I was incredibly impressed by her maturity. That was it, she was over it. At least, visibly, she was over it.
The rest of the night was VERY enjoyable!! We all laughed and enjoyed each other's company... it truly was an unforgettable Christmas night! Josh and I were so blessed. Those moments we shared as a family will never be forgotten.
I think that little Christmas drama pulled us closer together. Anna let us see inside her. We could feel her hurt and know her pain. We looked at her differently, we loved her even more. We couldn't have asked for a better Christmas.
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