When you think of Christmas, or whatever it is your family celebrates this time of year, what stands out to you? What traditions do you hold so dear that you would never go a season without doing them? What matters most? Do you keep our glass half-full or is it half-empty? I know, it’s a lot of questions and something I have learned in my years of adulting with grown ups lol.
What Matters Most On Christmas? Is It Half Full or Half Empty?
When I was a kid, Christmas was my very favorite holiday; you got presents. As a kid, that’s one of the things that matters most. As I got a bit older, it was other things too. Special foods my mom bought, certain decor we had in the house that I appreciated more as a young adult. It was all of the family together for a meal, the laughter, the joy and even an occasional argument over politics that I grew to appreciate. The older you get, the less you care about things like presents and the more you care about seeing your family happy.
For as long as I and remember we have celebrated Christmas on Christmas Eve as well as on Christmas Day. See it all starts in the evening with potato soup that I normally make for the family; it’s not nearly as good as my grandmas but then again nothing I ever cook will be, and Christmas won’t be the same without her. I’ll always remember sitting next to her at the dinner table; it was the only place I would sit. I wanted to be next to my grannie, not at the kids table. I mean seriously, my brother, sister, and cousins were nuts. You could always hear them fighting, and it never failed someone always ended up throwing food, which never ended well lol. How I miss those days, I would do anything to spend one more Christmas with my grandmother. My grandma
You know, but a piece of her is and always be around on Christmas because everything we do, all our traditions are things I have carried down from spending Christmas with her. My husband and I compromised when it came to Christmas traditions and turned them into our family traditions. Last year I remembered looking at the kids eating at the kids table, and it took me back to the days when I used to sit with my grandmother and watch my younger siblings and cousins. I found comfort in the fact that my kids acted the same way, I know it sounds crazy, but I did, and it also helped me to realize that Christmas could be better than it was when I spent it sitting next to my grannie. See, these traditions, my memories, and love for my grandmother will never fade she will always be with, and now I have my family in the mix.
I know it’s not the same, it’s different, and remembering isn’t as good has having, but there isn’t a day that I don’t thank god Im able to remember, love and share my traditions and memories with my kids. Now when I think about what matters most on Christmas, I don’t immediately think about how bad the holidays are because my grandmother isn’t with me. I think my kids smiling, family together, traditions I’ve carried down from my grandmother, her potato soup that I can’t get right, and I remember how it felt to be a kid on Christmas with my family. I’m blessed with everything I have experienced, the people I’ve met, my amazing not-so-perfect, but I wouldn’t ever trade them family, and the life I live not only on Christmas but wake up to every single day.
Life is about how you look at it. Is it half full or half empty? Nobody can tell you; that part is up to you. I will say this; I have learned that there is always a positive side to things you just have to find it, and it’s not always easy but looking at your half full glass helps you see the beauty in everything and everyone around you.
What matters most to you on Christmas?
