i have a tradition of giving an ornament and book to my nieces and nephews on christmas. as they get older, i wonder if they find this to be "lame" certainly not a cool gadget or flashy toy... but each year i continue.
namely because i know what it's like to get older and be on your own. my mom was sweet enough to give us a box of ornaments that were collected as we grew up. an uncle gave us one, grandma the other, one fell out of a cereal box and it was love at first sight. every year i am reminded of certain parts of me that i forget about. it's fun to think...wow, i really loved penguins, or yikes, maybe i wasn't soo gifted at arts and crafts after all. a snowman should NOT look like that! man can reality be cruel. ha ha!
my hope is that my nieces and nephews can find some comfort in each ornament as they hang it on the tree...mabye it is the first year of college and their roommates agree to get a tree. they sip on hot chocolate and decorate. she (or he) gets to tell the roommates all about how aunt emilee gave her/him that and talk about how they played this sport or loved that animal or...
and if they choose to not open the box until they have their own family...well, i hope they can share with their kids or husband/wife and talk about why this ornament came to them. as we all know, some walks down memory lane can be tough, but when it's adorned with ornaments from someone who loves you to the moon and back...maybe it can feel more like a walk in "candyland" that's ultimately what i want my nieces and nephews to know...that i love them to the moon and back.
as if the universe knew i needed some assurance to continue my tradition the "life's little instructions calendar" that we have in the bathroom at work started december off with this instruction:
"every year, add an ornament to your Christmas tree that represents something important that you've accomplished or experienced during the past year"
namely because i know what it's like to get older and be on your own. my mom was sweet enough to give us a box of ornaments that were collected as we grew up. an uncle gave us one, grandma the other, one fell out of a cereal box and it was love at first sight. every year i am reminded of certain parts of me that i forget about. it's fun to think...wow, i really loved penguins, or yikes, maybe i wasn't soo gifted at arts and crafts after all. a snowman should NOT look like that! man can reality be cruel. ha ha!
my hope is that my nieces and nephews can find some comfort in each ornament as they hang it on the tree...mabye it is the first year of college and their roommates agree to get a tree. they sip on hot chocolate and decorate. she (or he) gets to tell the roommates all about how aunt emilee gave her/him that and talk about how they played this sport or loved that animal or...
and if they choose to not open the box until they have their own family...well, i hope they can share with their kids or husband/wife and talk about why this ornament came to them. as we all know, some walks down memory lane can be tough, but when it's adorned with ornaments from someone who loves you to the moon and back...maybe it can feel more like a walk in "candyland" that's ultimately what i want my nieces and nephews to know...that i love them to the moon and back.
as if the universe knew i needed some assurance to continue my tradition the "life's little instructions calendar" that we have in the bathroom at work started december off with this instruction:
"every year, add an ornament to your Christmas tree that represents something important that you've accomplished or experienced during the past year"
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