One to Remember, One to Forget

This Christmas is turning out to be a real treat. Our tree was put up early, albeit in minimalistic fashion. The lights are strewn about our living room. The kids have written Santa with their short but specific lists. The stocking are hung above The Bookcase of a Thousand National Geographics. The wife and I finished our shopping for the kids the week before Thanksgiving.

So far this year we have visited Christmas Tree Farm for holiday biscuits, homemade syrup, and bluegrass. We just got back from seeing Santa on Rudy the KCS Holiday Train. Saturday the kids and wife went to the Christmas street parade, Christmas boat parade, and Christmas fireworks. We even went to the Advent workshop at our church.

We are traveling to the Zoo Holiday Light Safari next week. We are going to the Cajun Village light display. We will be lighting candles in church for the 4th advent Sunday and we are topping it off with a visit to the Star Wars exhibit at the planetarium. Okay so the last thing does not really fit but to 8 and 3 year olds it makes perfect sense. It is the first Christmas the 3 year old will understand and maybe the last one the 8 year old will attribute to Santa. This is a unique year.

As a kid any one of those things would have been the highlight of the year. We always had a big Christmas tree and lots of presents but we never went anywhere. The first not-on-TV Christmas parade I ever saw I was a participant in a JROTC armed drill team. Things and stuff were always supposed to substitute for not being involved in things and the lack of doing stuff. I am just the opposite with our kids. I would rather have experiences with my kids than to buy another gadget.

My soon to be 9 year old has flown in a Vietnam War era "Huey", a Cessna 172 and has camped out on a WWII warship and visited 8 states. I hope to continue to be able to offer him and his little brother opportunities that you just can't replace with plastic toys. He has Legos and other toys but we value experiences and exploration over toys.

All of this points to the fact that 13 years ago was the worst Christmas I have ever experienced. Death and Christmas don't go together well at all. The pictures from that year tell the tale better than I could write it. Maybe this year will start new and happy traditions that my boys can carry forward for years to come.