The holiday season it steeped in family tradition. We all have places we go, certain days to spend with family and the traditions in our immediate homes as well. It has been six long years since I have spent Christmas in the home I grew up in for 22 years. Six years it has been since I last spent Christmas day the traditional way we always did. We open presents Christmas morning at the house. Then we load up the car to go visit my grandparents and other extended family. The whole day was spent with family.
Since those times I have gotten married and started a family of my own. We have had our own traditions with The Kiddos and with my wife’s family. My parents usually come up to visit sometime immediately around Christmas. I know, they come to see the grand kids, not us (but we love them anyway. Right Nana and Papa?)
This year we have been blessed for the opportunity for me to take a full week off from work to visit my family. Christmas day we will travel to see my grandmother’s and other extended family. We will spend time with my sister, her husband, and The Precious. We will share in the memories created that day and live in the moments that create those memories. The love of family and the bonds of tradition will warm our hearts.
I hope that one day my children will grow up to have families of their own. Whether they live next door, or hundreds of miles away, I hope they will remember tradition. I hope they will share the stories of the traditions they grow up in with their children. I hope they will one day return to live those traditions another time. No matter what the future holds, the value of family and the time spent with them will forever stay in our hearts. The traditions and memories will be engrained in our minds for all of time. We will rejoice in our blessings and never forget who we are, and who’s we are. That is family. That is the value.
