---
title: Magical
description: I asked her what she thought 2nd grade would be like.  She thought for a second and with a huge smile and dancing eyes replied.
---

[Abundant Aging - Center for Abundant Aging](https://blog.unitedchurchhomes.org)

# [Magical](https://blog.unitedchurchhomes.org/magical)

 Written by [Lisa B. Thomas](https://blog.unitedchurchhomes.org/author/lisa-thomas) | December 22, 2022

This past July 4th, our son, daughter-in-law, and our grandchildren Isabell and Jami came for a visit. We had a lovely time going to the zoo, visiting the lake, and hiking, as well as plenty of quiet time, talking and reading together.

During one of those quiet times after I had finished reading a book to 7-year-old Isabell, we began to chat. As Isabell would be starting 2nd grade soon, I asked her what she thought 2nd grade would be like. She thought for a second and with a huge smile and dancing eyes replied, “Magical!”

I loved that answer! Clearly, Isabell was in a time of expectant waiting for second grade to begin. I loved that, in her period of expectant waiting, her big brown eyes saw the promise and hope that a new school year held. The promise of continuing to learn to read is, of course, a magic all its own. The promise of seeing old friends and making new ones – another kind of magic.

**Waiting Like a Child**

As Advent is drawing to a close, we too are in a time of expectant waiting. We wait to see out-of-town family. We wait to attend the quietly beautiful Christmas Eve service. We wait to see the joy on children’s or spouses’ faces when they open a well-chosen gift. And every year, we expectantly wait to hear the mysterious and awe-inspiring story of Christ’s birth.

For myself, I want to wait for the birth of the Christ child like Isabell has waited for 2nd grade. I want to wait with hope and enthusiasm and with bright shining eyes, knowing that the 2000-year-old story of shepherds and stars, of angels and mangers, and of mothers and fathers and babies is truly magical.

 

[View full post](https://blog.unitedchurchhomes.org/magical)

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