The holidays are fast approaching and each year I detest them more and more. This includes both Thanksgiving and Christmas. I feel like all we do is DRIVE, DRIVE, and DRIVE some more. I do that all day everyday so you can imagine I really don't want to do that over the holidays. I feel like there is tradition left, but I don't get to enjoy much of it anymore because we are trying to be everywhere at once.
Growing up, Thanksgiving was held at my parents house. We would have my dad's brothers and close family friends over for appitizers and dinner to celebrate. There would be as many as 20-25 people in the house. Everybody brought food and we had a great time. Nobody fought over who gets to eat the Turkey skin because we SHARED. My father grilled the turkey and I think it's the best turkey there is. My mom makes better mashed potatoes than anybody and makes excellent deviled eggs. Somebody always brings green been cassarole, my favorite. We had friends who brought cheesecake, pumpkin bars, scotcharoos, and cookies for snacking and dessert. Thanksgiving was a meal that EVERYONE contributed to and it wasn't just left to the person hosting. I love thanksgiving, it is my most favorite holiday. I love to watch the parade and help make the food. I love that my dad gets up before everybody and preps the turkey so it's on the grill before we come down stairs. I love going to a movie thanksgiving night just to get out of the house and enjoy eachothers company. I love that Friday after Thanksgiving where we shop our brains out and then lounge around watching movies spending time with our relatives who only visit once a year. We would hang our christmas lights out front, regardless of the temperature and then go inside and watch football. That was the thanksgiving I grew up with. Growing up sucks and we split our time between families and DRIVE and DRIVE and DRIVE, leaving little time to relax and enjoy.
And then comes Christmas, every childs favorite holiday. We had the same tree for 18 years at my parents and spent almost every christmas at home once we moved to Iowa. We would have 'family shopping night' a week before christmas where my family (tara, mom, and dad) woud venture to the mall and we would split up to buy eachother presents. We would have them wrapped by the community service project in the mall and be done. When I got married, that obviously changed. I still love giving gifts and watching others open them. It's fun to see people get something totally unexpected or something they wanted more than anything. I am always appreciative when others think of me and make an effort to find something they think I might like. I always try to think of something when people ask what I would like vs. saying 'nothing' because you know and I know they are going to get you something regardless. Christmas was not celebrated until that morning, when we would come down stairs and see all the presents under the tree and the stocking full of fun stuff. My parents would already have christmas music playing, the cookies and carrotts would be eaten, there would be a jar of candy and candy canes on the tree. Everybody would be in their PJs and we would watch each person open gifts, one at a time. I love christmas with my family. That night my dad would make turkey and we would have a really nice meal. During the day, our friends would come over and we would all eat together and then go see a movie or play games. We would make all efforts to be on our best behavior that day and enjoy playing with our new toys and clothes. It would be nice to show Henry those traditions.
I'll be honest, the past few years are filled with more drama and have begun to make me loathe the holidays. I used to get really excited for this time of year but there are days I wish it would just pass by, forget to mention it occured and go on with life. It's unfortunate. What keeps my spirits high is Henry J. We have his shopping done and got him some really cool stuff. We didn't get a lot and most of it wasn't really big and expensive but he will be so excited and that is what I look forward to.
2 comments:
what kind of stuff did you get henry this year? we have a small list for baylen like a thomas train track set, he got a tool bench not too long ago so we bought him some tools...and we asked for a combine...wondering what other moms with boys this age are thinking...
Keep your chin up, Sammie. I feel like everyone our age struggles with splitting time between families and wishing for traditions that have gone by the wayside. Try to think of all the NEW traditions you're creating for Henry. Someday maybe he'll blog about how amazing it was to have Thanksgiving and Christmas with his parents and grandparents. I doubt that he'll remember the car rides :)
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