Traditionally Speaking

Sorry I have been away for a few days. It's been a little bumpy here chez 2999, but everyone is on the mend and we are declaring good health for our family from here on out!!!!

Anyhow, since we've had some days quarantined in the house, I have done quite a bit of thinking about the holidays and what they mean to me. As I have perused various blogs and websites, I am touched by some of the traditions that people share with their families. They range from the kinda strange--ie that elf on a shelf thing that I still don't get--to the sentimental--ie lighting candles for departed loved ones.

While I know that we had traditions growing up, I don't know that we defined them as such. Instead, we just enjoyed the moments and cherished the time together doing what we do...I can recall one of my favorite times was sitting by the fireplace every year waiting for my dad to make a "big" fire so that we could sit in our PJ's and hear him read the Christmas story like only he could. And yes, we did that every year, so I guess that was a little tradition...Though as I look outside at this sun and 80 degree weather, it's hard to imagine those chilly days. So yeah, well, aside from that, our annual holiday celebrations included stops at my maternal grandmother's home followed by a stop at my mawmaw and pawpaw's house. Yep, our trip to the country...filled with laughs, love, food and Wal-Mart gift that we loved so much. Those were the days, LOL.

So fast forward to now...it saddens me that dad only got to read that Christmas story to J a few times and it sucks that B won't even know his voice. Those trips to the country aren't quite the same without him and so many more who are no longer with us. There's a stillness in the celebrations that match the loneliness in our hearts. But I have to remind myself to snap out of it and to realize that I can't dwell in grief. I have memories to make and "traditions" to uphold with my boys, my mom and my brother. So while we don't have dad's artistic touch to add the holiday decorations to the yard at mom's house, we still have to pull out his reindeer and snowman and put them up the best that we can. I know he'd be laughing and proud. I am going to bribe guncle to read the Christmas story to the boys this year and maybe, just maybe, we'll get the fireplace to light up and carry a flame like dad used to.

More than anything, I want to pass along the feeling of family and of love. After all, that's what the holidays are about, right? So 20 years from now, when the boys are grown and moving on, I want them to be able to reflect on their holidays with warm fuzzies...Okay, wait, they are boys, let me rephrase...I want them to have fond memories of the times spent with family. I want them to cherish not just the material gifts, but the intangible ones as well. I want them to be able to pass along what I guess we can proudly call our family traditions...though the are not as defined or elaborate as some, they are ours and I am grateful for them!