Day 545
Up at the cottage making memories! Lilly, Ranger and Gus love to hang out by the gate and dream of swimming days next year! Isn't somebody missing at the gate? Sam tends to mix up the calm atmosphere when he joins our pack, so we were allowing the older three to relax for a moment!
Today was the very first "Sunday Morning Walk" at our little place. A tradition in the making! Asher, Katie and I headed out and down the road with no destination in mind...it was beautiful! Rocks were collected, cabins admired and every car we passed on our walk, waved a friendly hello to our small group.
This is the season for traditions! The holiday season is abundant with wonderful, heartfelt customs we revisit each year. Cookie baking, meals around the table, festive decorations, gifts and so much more are just around the corner! I love this time of year!
This morning, as we took the first steps into a new tradition, I began to wonder what it is about these customs that warms the heart and creates a longing within. It took some quiet contemplation to "unpack" the reasons why we return to them year-after-year. It finally came down to three words: comfort, memories and love.
'Comfort' is found in the reassurance that the past and present can still meet with wonder and those traditions just might march forward into the future. My grandmother's cookie recipes, ornaments collected over the years and the music of the season are just a few of the things that feel like the arms of loved ones, who shared so much with us over the years, are offering a warm hug. Holiday traditions comfort us with the sights, sounds and smells of annual customs.
'Memories' are so vivid when we revisit our family traditions each year. No matter what the season, remembering past years and reminiscing makes the event much more beautiful. It might simply be a story about the Minnesota Halloween Blizzard during Trick-or-Treating back in 1991, or shared laughter (or tears) when we think of a loved one who is no longer with us to celebrate. As we make new memories in the present, they are forever knit with memories from the past.
'Love' certainly plays a major role in traditions of any kind. We really embark on recreating our customs each year because it brings loved ones together again. Each event is not only filled with comfort and memories, but also a surrounding love we crave. Families, friends, colleagues and others gather because they love those who share the experience.
So, we will enjoy each and every wonderful tradition during the holiday season and beyond. We will create a few new ones along life's journey and those will be revisited with comfort, memories and love as the years go by. Past, present and future are linked.
Our Sunday Morning Walk at the cabin held every component of traditions we hold dear. 'Comforted' to be walking with beloved family, making the first of 'memories' to build upon each year and 'love'...love is the core of it all!
