It was the first weekend after Thanksgiving in 2017 and our grandchildren were having a sleepover at our house. As has become tradition, they decorated the place for Christmas while singing and dancing to the Little Drummer Boy music box and Jingle Bell Snowman with his sidekick Barking Dog.

After Thomas the Train had circled the holiday village and our tiny Christmas tree covered with their favorite ornaments on a multitude of trips, it was time for barefoot running in the front yard’s chilly grass before The Lighting. As the youngest, it was 2 & ½ year old Lincoln’s turn to do the honors.  He had no idea what all the excitement was about, but as the older ones began the countdown, he followed their lead.

3…2…1

Pawpaw helped Lincoln flip the switch on the power cord and whoosh, the icicles lit up all across our roof. Before he had long to take it all in with eyes of wonder, he was whisked back inside for cookie baking and hot chocolate drinking which 6 and 4 year old sisters Sophia and Natalie agreed was the “most wonderful” part of the celebration. Separating holiday candies by color while eating more than he used to decorate his sugar cookie wreaths convinced Lincoln that his cousins were entirely correct.

That’s when it happens!

While we’re sitting together munching and slurping, I spur-of-the-moment share the story of how my Dad had given my Mom a Nativity Creche on their first Christmas and how it has made its way through the years of my childhood to this very moment. The children ask to see it up close and are very gentle as they pass it around the table, asking questions about baby Jesus and about me as a girl.

That reminds me of when my daughter Sara had done the same, so I bring another of our treasured decorations off the bookshelf for them to see…our Advent Calendar. While Oliver’s current Advent calendar holds a mini-Lego kit behind each date’s window, Sara had opened each small square of hers in 1984 to reveal a drawing and a bit of story that I read to her each day. By the time Christmas morning had arrived, she knew it all by heart and wanted us to audio record her as she acted it out. (Wishing we had also captured it with the movie camera to show to the grandchildren along with the calendar.)

Oliver seems fascinated by the tiny print and using his 7 year old reading skills, he begins telling us the Christmas Story. He doesn’t want to wait for each day to come. He reads the whole thing, and then answers questions from his captivated younger cousins about what he had just read aloud.

Unexpected and miraculously marvelous! We listen in silence, yet I’m hearing my heart beating fast in gratitude for this spontaneous sharing time.

I believe that I’ll always remember the whole at-table experience, when what seemed like ordinary moments became extraordinary. And now that they’ve been jotted down, they can become part of our family’s legacy of memories for future generations to share over many Christmases to come!

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I’d love to support you in capturing simple moments that lead to wonderfully fulfilling memories for a lifetime. Let’s chat about starting your Legacy of Family Memories by jotting down some of this season’s traditions.

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JOYfully jotting,

Katie

Family PhotoStory Curator

Mini-Stories Writing Coach

Your Legacy of Memories Mentor

Capturing Mini-Moments that Matter…

Energizing & Connecting Families for Generations!