Our family celebration of Christmas was on Christmas Eve this year. We had a house full and the highlight for me was spending time with both of my new grandsons celebrating their first Christmas.
For the first time in my life, I had no plans for Christmas Day so I gave myself a special gift this year...the gift of time.
I spent Christmas Day, in my pjs, watching old family videos.
My trip back in time lasted from 11:00 am to 11:00 pm, with just two breaks to retrieve leftovers from the kitchen.
I spent my Christmas day transported in time.
It was like being visited by the Ghost of Christmas Past, but with Easter, birthdays, and school recitals also thrown in.
I laughed
The clothing and hairstyles of the 80's. The funny things my kids said and did. The home decor - all that wallpaper!
Our TV - how could we see anything on a screen so small?
I cried
Going back in time made me very sentimental.
Seeing my kids so young and cute made me wish I could be there again. It's a good thing I have two grandbabies to soften the pain of not having my "babies" anymore.
There was also the pain, and happiness, of seeing all the loved ones who had died years ago...which brings me to:
I saw dead people
It was nice, and yet very emotional, to see all the people who are no longer here.
Seeing my grandmother playing with her great grandchildren was one of my favorites.
Seeing my father-in-law walking and talking was special because his final years alive were spent in a wheelchair, unable to speak.
My husband and daughter joined me several times throughout the day and shared my experience. We saw friends and family we haven't seen in years. We remembered favorite toys. We saw the house and neighborhood that my children grew up in.
We also learned a few things:
- Everyone we know used to be soooo young!
- The Tara family has no musical talent whatsoever and school pageants, recitals, and holiday shows were a painful experience, both to participate in and to watch.
- At every birthday party, the main objective was sucking the frosting off the birthday candles.
- It was possible to live a full and rich life without an Ipod, Blackberry, or the Internet.
- My kids had a wonderful childhood and we have all had, and continue to have, a wonderful life!
To quote my grandmother "This was the best Christmas ever!"
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Hi Sharon,
Nice post! We had a nice Christmas with our children and grandchildren visiting. We shared stories of Christmas past, home made goodies and quality time with each other.
Have a safe and prosperous New Year!
Sharon,
Wow! I was touched by your story. It seems like you have passed the torch to the younger generation. You must be proud of your children. I can't wait to be a grandfather, when Christmas means that I will just get ready and bring gifts over to the family celebration, without having to worry about all the planning and preparation.
This year I spent this Christmas with my Fiancé’s family. They started on Christmas Eve, and it continued into Christmas Day. I still kept in touch with my children who spent their Christmas break with my mom, in Connecticut.
Thanks for sharing.
Judi: Sounds like you had the ideal holiday! Happy New Year to you and your family too!
Gary: It was funny, how we kept saying "look how young he looks!" Twenty something years will do that to a person! Sometimes you don't realize how great you look until many years go by and you look back.
Lloyd: The torch is in the process of being passes...they are having the babies but the preparation and planning is still being done by me! I look forward to just showing up and not doing all the work too! Thanks for the nice comment!
Hi, Sharon. This is one of the best posts I've read....what a great title.
The last time I visited my father, I flew from Burlington, Vermont to Ft Myers, Florida but I Fedexed a box of family pictures because I travel light. We reminisced about our family history and all the people and places captured in those photos. He died several months later and I was so glad that I had had the foresight to spend such quality time with him. As Kodak moments go....it was PRICELESS!
Leslie: Thank you! How lucky for you that you had that time with your Dad and he was able to share that valuable information with you before he died. I had hoped to watch my videos with my parents while they were here in November, but we never got around to it. Hopefully we will make the time when they are here next Summer. They are probably the only other people who could really appreciate them as much as I do.
Sharon, I found a box of photos a few years back...it was cathartic, I did scan a few favorites in to the computer...but many were pasted over in the interest of time, I think I should revisit after reading your post?
Sharon- I loved hearing about your day. Remembering through videos/photos can make your count your bleesings and at the same time make you miss those who are no longer with us. For me, I always miss the"old days" and yet am so thankful to have all that I have.
What a great post and it seems to me your family found the true sentiment of this holiday time.
Steve: You should take the time to look through them. I only made a small dent, watching three tapes. There are still plenty more to watch. Maybe New Years I'll do the same thing and have another video tape marathon.
Kathy: My husband put a vcr in the tv armoire in our bedroom after I was complaining about not having access to all our video tapes. We don't use that tv so it seemed the perfect solution. I've been wanting to sit and watch but have not had the time. Christmas Day was my opportunity and I took it! I'm so glad I did.
Thank you for sharing this with us Sharon. What a wonderful way to spend your day! This makes me want to go through all of my old pictures and movies too! I know I wish I had taken even more. Glad you had a good holiday and I hope New Year's is just as good!
Sharon - What an awesome idea. I think you just found a new holiday tradition! You might consider having those VCR tapes transferred onto CD and sharing the "gift" with the whole family. I bet they would love it too.
That was an awesome blog. Needless to say I got emotional. I wish I could have shared those movies with you. How proud I am of you and our family. love you, mom
Sheila: I'm sure if you make the time, you will be glad you did! I'm so glad we taped as much as we did back then. We don't video that much now. Maybe with grandkids it will change.
Judy: I would love to transfer to CD but the tapes are not in any real order and for every interesting and valuable section there is a boring section. I wish I could cut and paste all the good pieces together. Maybe someday. Thanks.
Mom: We will have our own special day watching videos when you come home in the Summer! xoxo
What a great post Sharon! I especially love number 4 on your list of things learned. Sounds like a great Christmas for you.
Ana
Great Post Sharon,
I do that from time to time, I think it is important some times to just do nothing, watch movies, read, just do nothing, hang out with the dog. It rejuvenates me, PJ day
Ana: Funny how we went about our lives without email or text messages! How did we survive?
Gerry: It reminded me of "snow days" when I was a kid and there was no school. It felt like a bonus, like an extra day. It was wonderful.
Sharon what a well written post and an excellent way to spend the day. I was just saying yesterday how different things are today. Kids don't play outside anymore-they are all inside on the computer, playing WII or watching TV. When we were young no matter what the time of year we were always outside pretty much from dawn til dusk. I guess it probably will never be like that again for kids.
Wow Sharon! What a great Christmas gift! My Mom always said she enjoyed the day after Christmas the most. All the work and worry was over and she could just mull through all the gifts everyone got and talk to each one of us about how we felt. Mmm, now that I think about it, she was giving us a truly loving gift - her time! Happy New Year.
Debra: I've had that same discussion. We used to be outside all day, with no way for our parents to reach us. We would show up at dinner time and then go back out to play until dark. Even my kids, used to play outside. It's really too bad that kids today are missing out.
Al & Peggy: Your mother's time was a gift, for her and her children. She created important memories for you too!
Sharon,
Let us know how you'll be spending New Year's day, too! Thank you for sharing your day, your feelings, your joys, your sadness with us. Very touching!
Chris: As of right now, I hope to have a repeat of Christmas Day and I'm looking forward to it! Thanks.
Sharon, What a wonderful reflective Christmas you had. Christmas Day was very busy for me with lots of family in and coming in. I'm looking forward to your kind of day tomorrow though.
Marchel: Enjoy your New Years day in peace and quiet! I'm repeating my Christmas Day in pjs with leftovers!
Ah, the pleasure. It's quite a difference when you look from pictures of them holding baby dolls to the real them holding their own baby, our grandkid.
Glad you had a great Christmas day. Happy New Year.
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Erby: Thank you so much! Hope you enjoy your new year too!
For the first time ever we celebrated and opened gifts on Christmas Eve, too. Christmas day found me blissful in my jammies on the couch, under my new leopard print snuggie, forging for fabulous leftovers. We watched our old home movies fro 25-30 years ago, for the first time in decades, haveing just converted them to DVD for Christmas. I too, laughed and cried and saw dead people! what a wonderful Christmas!
Janna: It sounds like we had exactly the same holiday! I kind of did the same thing on New Years! I'm feeling really spoiled!