Julie’s Blog

Time is On Our Side - NOT!

November 17, 2007 on 5:14 am | In Uncategorized |

There is nothing really significant about November 13th other than the fact that Christmas Day falls exactly 6 weeks after.  I came to this realization when my daughter was 6 weeks old on Christmas Day. So her birthday is my signal to start thinking about writing cards, buying gifts, making lists and checking them twice. Please note I use the word “thinking”. Hey, don’t we always say “it’s the thought that counts”!

I LOVE, LOVE LOVE the holiday season. The music, the decorations, the food and the memories.  Christmas memories are definitely firmly embedded in my mind from way back when, and yes, I do mean “way back”.  One of my favorite memories is from the mid 80’s.  I worked as a Kindergarten Aide for a couple of years at the elementary school my children attended.  We held the annual Christmas party for teachers at our home and I remember overhearing my 7 year old son tell his teacher: “This is our special family tree. It’s our tradition to make different ornaments to put on it every year.”  And we did; I had just never thought of it as a tradition, but it definitely was.  It still stands in our family room each Christmas decorated with the hodge podge of ornaments we’ve made and collected over the years.  There are shower curtain rings wrapped with ribbon, adorned with roses and a tiny bear; wax ornaments made from leftover candles; hand painted glass balls; toy soldiers and reindeer made from clothes pins and sand dollars dipped in clear glitter just to name a few.  We usually decorate our home Thanksgiving weekend, so I’ll be sure to post one or two photos after we put the tree up.

Next week is Thanksgiving.  It’s not a holiday we celebrate in England, but it has become a favorite. I love any reason for us to get together as a family to give thanks for each other and for the many blessings in our lives.  Happy Thanksgiving everybody!    May you always have bread for the table, a twinkle in your eye and a heart full of love.