randomness

There is no picture to go with this post.  I have too many to put and sometime, I will make a collage for it.  While reading random blogs that I follow, a blogger from Naples wrote:
 
"I never really thought through how we do Christmas until I had kids. And when you have kids, everything shifts. You're not just someone's kid anymore, following through with the traditions your own parents started. You're the mom. The matriarch. You hold the Holiday Torch--the powerful seed of tradition--in the palm of your hand. Everything your child remembers about these months stems from you. Wow. That's a lot of power."

I started thinking about this and have.not.stopped.  From the decorating to the stories to the songs to the gingerbread house, we are surrounded by my traditions and memories.  I want Kate to love this holiday because it is the best.  Not because of the gifts because even though I like them, they are not "Christmas."  I love the feeling of Christmas.  I love that I got married around Christmas.  I love that my sister and I, at ages 28 and 37, respectively, still get matching jammies from my mom each year.  I love that this year, my mom, Kate, and my sister's dog will all have these jammies.  I love that my tree is filled with ornaments from my childhood tree (bought at a church chili supper/bazaar in Sullivan, Indiana), from my Aunt Betty's collection, from people who gifted us with ornaments for our wedding and Kate's birth, and special ornaments my mom makes for me...and now Kate...each year.  I love that I get two weeks off each year to revel in the house being decorated, baking, and being stressed about making others happy.  I love that I listen to songs that have words that I know...and I love teaching those to Kate.  I love that she now tells the story of the Little Drummer Boy in her own way.  I love driving past houses that are lit and thinking about those decorations.  LOVE.IT.ALL!

So, yes, I was raised to hold this torch and hold it tightly and proudly.