Christmas, Yesterday and Today

Decorated the Christmas tree yesterday with my 16 year old daughter Bri, 19 year old son Garrett, and our Korean student who lives with us. His name is Bobby he is 18. It was such wonderful fun.

There is nothing like those early Christmas memories with tiny children running down the steps in footie pj's sooo thrilled and happy. Decorating the with little ones was always new and I remember telling them the stories behind old ornaments of mine and new ones bought for them the year before they had forgotten. The tree always had all the ornaments on the bottom 1/2. Christmas really is for children in so many ways. Those times were so precious. Christmas's with teens are different but they can be just as wonderful in different ways.

Because we had Bobby with us this Christmas the kids sort of naturally taught him our traditions as we went along. They brought him into our holiday and it was interesting to watch.

We cut down the tree, Garrett asked Bobby if he wanted to lay in the muck and snow to cut it down. Garretts face looked like he was giving him a privledge. Bobby looks at him like he is crazy, but for Garrett it was a right earned at about the age of 11 when Dad finally let him do it himself. Garrett never saw the muck, he only saw a job earned, a right of manhood and he was still happy to do it.

We set up the tree and began to put on the lights, ribbon, beads and ornaments. Bri easily tells him the order of things and he complys. I thought to myself, when was it that the order had become written in stone, the tradition had become law. I smiled!

"Mom" does the ribbon", "This ornament I made in Nursery school and it looks terrible, but its Mom's favorite." " This was my grandmoms when she graduated high school", this one we bought at Disney, Hershey Park, Ukraine. On and on went the stories and traditions, hysterical memories, and precious moments that each ornament or decoration brought to mind. They even explained the annual dispute of which one of them gets the Old Nativity from Italy or the new one from Avon when I am dead and buried. Garrett began to mentions traditions he hopes to pass on to his family. I couldn't help but smile at the idea. We laughed we smiled and enjoyed every moment of it.

In Christmas's past who put the angel on last year and who is supposed to do it was easily the biggest deal of decorating the tree. I removed it from the box a bit more wrinkled, expecting the usual arguement when Garrett said "Well I think our new brother Bobby should put the star on tree", "Oh yea I agree", said Bri

They agreed???? They were going to let Bobby do it? I was teary as I handed our Angel to Bobby who did a great job putting the angel on the tree and even made a new funny memory.

I sat back, watching all this and thanked God for healthy Children who, love Jesus, Still love me, love our family and were willing to set their own wants aside, break a tradition and include someone else. I was thankful that the stories and memories had become theirs. I was reminded of this verse. Do not be deceived what so ever a man sows that shall he reap.

Those early years were precious and I have them forever. But seeing them become who God is making them to be is soooo much better.

Keep up the traditions, the memories and the lessons. They stick with them,they remember them.