Bust Out Those Holiday Traditions!

Last week was a rough one. I was down sick the entire week and then Friday I had to haul myself out of bed and get down to Bryce Canyon Utah to attend the Open House for my son and his new bride. I made it through the evening and then crashed again, sick as could be, and I have spent the rest of the weekend back in bed again…yuck…

Today (Sunday) as I lay in bed feeling sorry for myself for my continued illness, I grabbed the remote control and turned on the Television to the most glorious surprise. It was the premier of the Hallmark Channel Christmas movies!!!!!  I was so happy I wanted to cry…and then I did start crying, but for a different reason…let me explain:

Every year my daughter Ashley and I have a beloved tradition of watching all the Hallmark Channel Christmas movies that are made for the holidays. She and I record every one of them on our TIVO and then we snuggle up with our blankets and hot cocoa and we watch the incredibly sappy and cheesy and wonderfully romantic Christmas movies together throughout the entire holiday season. She and I have done it for as many years as I can remember and it is seriously one of our favorite traditions. When I saw it was starting I was so happy! And then I started crying because I realized that this is the very first year she won’t be here to watch them with me this year as she is still gone serving her mission for the LDS Church. So I sat down and wrote her a letter and told her I will record every one of them for her and me to watch again next year when she is back. I also made her promise me that no matter how old we get we will always find a way to keep watching our Hallmark Christmas movies together…it’s a tradition that means the world to both of us.

You see, it’s not so much the movies themselves as it is having that special time with my daughter and the feelings of the Christmas spirit that watching uplifting shows bring to both of us. It’s being reminded of the spirit of Christmas, and having faith in miracles, and believing in the power of true love! It’s all those amazing feelings that seem to be more present during this time of the year. It’s family and it’s love.

Traditions are so important to have. They create a bond and they create consistency and memories. They give us something to look forward to and something to hang onto. They bring us together as families and friends. They provide feelings of stability amidst an unstable world. Traditions are like…home.

There may always be times when circumstance keeps us from being able to do our normal traditions, but I think it is important to find ways to still hang on to them in whatever way we can. My family is changing with my daughter away for Thanksgiving and Christmas on her mission this year and my son now married with a wife and a new family-in-law that he is spending the Thanksgiving holiday with. It feels like everything is different, but one thing that will never change is our traditions and the place they hold in our hearts.

Don’t ever let your traditions go…find ways to honor them each year, even when they have to be done a little differently. I guess that means my cute husband is going to have to fill in for my daughter this year and watch every one of the cheesy Christmas movies with me until she gets back next year so I can keep that tradition alive 🙂

Have an amazing start to this week everyone and bust out those holiday traditions!!

~Amy

1 Comment

  • Bishop Lyons says:

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