Today’s guest-blogger is Angels on Earth associate editor Tanya Richardson.
Five o’clock on a Friday evening and I still had a pile of work on my desk that had to be done by Monday morning—most importantly reading our annual Christmas issue before it was shipped off to the printer.
“I’m on my way home,” I emailed my husband. “I have some work I need to bring with me, though.” I thought about how Michael and I usually spent our weekends: walking through the city or along the Hudson River, attending a yoga class, chatting over coffee at our local hangout, meeting up with friends, seeing live music. This weekend one of those would have to wait.
I put my proofs of The Joys of Christmas 2012 into my bag and turned off my computer. I didn’t mind taking work home. It was a rarity for me at Guideposts. And besides, I thought, I’ll have the whole weekend to get it done.
Except that once I got home I kept putting it off. Sunday morning I made breakfast and went to church. When we got home Michael sat down at his computer to do some work, and I knew there was no more escaping my own responsibilities. I sighed and sat down to start reading.
Then a funny thing happened. Almost instantly I became lost in the true inspirational stories: a dad who manages to fly to his son’s base in Afghanistan for a surprise Christmas reunion, a community that rallies around an ill child, a camel that is able to reach a struggling adolescent. As I read page after page, I realized there was nothing else I would rather be doing on a Sunday afternoon. I couldn’t imagine an activity more joyful or comforting or inspirational.
I hope you like reading The Joys of Christmas 2012 as much as I did. It was a joy to work on, too.
