Happy Tuesday! I am sorry for the delayed blog post; busy season is among us and I am like a chicken with my head cut off this time of year. (Losing a week did not help!) Now, I am not sure what or even if you celebrate this time of year, but the simple fact that you clicked this link tells me that you may need some holiday cheer, (whoa unintentional rhyme) Anyway... my goal is to deliver that something special that you may need.
If you like sunshine, then Florida is definitely the place to be during Christmas. Even after living here for nearly 15 years, I still find it REALLY hard to get into the holiday spirit wearing tank tops and flip flops. In fact, when I saw this weather map on Facebook I laughed out loud and could not help but wish that I could simply wear a fluffy sweater and snow boots this year. (I suppose I could but would likely die of heat exhaustion, not to mention look a bit strange.) So... I will live vicariously through those who post pictures of beautiful snow covered trees, icicles and snowmen and allow it to bring me back to when I was just a little girl in Massachusetts.
My holidays were surrounded by the seasons, I loved jumping in piles of raked leaves in the fall, but winter was my favorite season of all. The barren trees were always covered in that glistening white magic and the calm quiet of winter was always so peaceful. One of my favorite things was the way the light hit the snow on a moonlit night outside the huge front windows of the A-frame tudor home that my dad built; I could see the lawn from my room because it was the loft which faced that window.We always had a fire going during this time of year and because of that, I still love the smell of a wood burning fireplace. I loved popping popcorn over the fire in an old fashioned popper (Little house on the Prairie style) while Mom and Dad sang Christmas songs like O Holy Night I to the strums of his guitar. That is how I remember my childhood Christmases, they were awesome and the memories of those times are something I hold very dear. I had hoped that I would give those kind of memories to my kids however felt as if I had failed to do that in this season-less state, until my beautiful daughter Baleigh reminded me that I was wrong.
This year, we decided to get a huge real tree, and because real trees are a little more challenging to hang heavy ornaments on, I decided to just do a "show tree" and not my traditional tree with all the "special" ornaments. I whipped it together thinking nothing of it even though I had initially thought we would do what we always do and decorate it together. It just seemed to be the "easiest" thing to do considering time was of the essence and it was hard to tell them where to stuff raffia. On Sunday, Baleigh and I went to church and on our way back she asked, "Mom, when are we going to decorate the tree?" I explained that I decided to do a themed tree this year and that it was already done, still thinking nothing of it. Until... she got quiet and when I looked over I saw tears forming in her eyes.
When I asked her what was wrong, she tried to say that her allergies were bothering her... (man, that kid is just like me!) but because of this I knew that she was not being truthful.After several minutes I finally managed to pull out of her that she loved decorating the tree and putting all those special ornaments on that I have collected over the years; she honestly could hardly stop the tears from falling.
It was in that moment that I realized that despite the fact that I feel I was unable to create special holiday traditions in this ridiculous heat... for her, the time we took remembering the moments when we made these ornaments together... and how amazing it always is to pull them out year after year realizing how quickly time really does fly. My heart was warmed and I was so proud of her. So in honor of our Christmas tradition, next week when my oldest daughter Cierra comes home, we will re-decorate the tree. Me and all my little munchkins... the ones who give me so much joy and so many smiles because THAT is what truly means the most and we will do it while wearing tank tops and flip flops!
If you like sunshine, then Florida is definitely the place to be during Christmas. Even after living here for nearly 15 years, I still find it REALLY hard to get into the holiday spirit wearing tank tops and flip flops. In fact, when I saw this weather map on Facebook I laughed out loud and could not help but wish that I could simply wear a fluffy sweater and snow boots this year. (I suppose I could but would likely die of heat exhaustion, not to mention look a bit strange.) So... I will live vicariously through those who post pictures of beautiful snow covered trees, icicles and snowmen and allow it to bring me back to when I was just a little girl in Massachusetts.
My holidays were surrounded by the seasons, I loved jumping in piles of raked leaves in the fall, but winter was my favorite season of all. The barren trees were always covered in that glistening white magic and the calm quiet of winter was always so peaceful. One of my favorite things was the way the light hit the snow on a moonlit night outside the huge front windows of the A-frame tudor home that my dad built; I could see the lawn from my room because it was the loft which faced that window.We always had a fire going during this time of year and because of that, I still love the smell of a wood burning fireplace. I loved popping popcorn over the fire in an old fashioned popper (Little house on the Prairie style) while Mom and Dad sang Christmas songs like O Holy Night I to the strums of his guitar. That is how I remember my childhood Christmases, they were awesome and the memories of those times are something I hold very dear. I had hoped that I would give those kind of memories to my kids however felt as if I had failed to do that in this season-less state, until my beautiful daughter Baleigh reminded me that I was wrong.
This year, we decided to get a huge real tree, and because real trees are a little more challenging to hang heavy ornaments on, I decided to just do a "show tree" and not my traditional tree with all the "special" ornaments. I whipped it together thinking nothing of it even though I had initially thought we would do what we always do and decorate it together. It just seemed to be the "easiest" thing to do considering time was of the essence and it was hard to tell them where to stuff raffia. On Sunday, Baleigh and I went to church and on our way back she asked, "Mom, when are we going to decorate the tree?" I explained that I decided to do a themed tree this year and that it was already done, still thinking nothing of it. Until... she got quiet and when I looked over I saw tears forming in her eyes.
When I asked her what was wrong, she tried to say that her allergies were bothering her... (man, that kid is just like me!) but because of this I knew that she was not being truthful.After several minutes I finally managed to pull out of her that she loved decorating the tree and putting all those special ornaments on that I have collected over the years; she honestly could hardly stop the tears from falling.
It was in that moment that I realized that despite the fact that I feel I was unable to create special holiday traditions in this ridiculous heat... for her, the time we took remembering the moments when we made these ornaments together... and how amazing it always is to pull them out year after year realizing how quickly time really does fly. My heart was warmed and I was so proud of her. So in honor of our Christmas tradition, next week when my oldest daughter Cierra comes home, we will re-decorate the tree. Me and all my little munchkins... the ones who give me so much joy and so many smiles because THAT is what truly means the most and we will do it while wearing tank tops and flip flops!
XOXO
~Shells~
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