Posted in Making Memories
About this time every year I tinge at the pretty fall garland that is for sale in the store, thinking how lovely that would look around my mantel or around our front door but knowing that there are more important things to buy -- I covet until I pull our own homemade family garland and then all is right in the world again. For the last ten years or so, we would cut fall leaves out of colored construction paper or brown bags. Then daily everybody writes down what they are thankful for; when they were younger I would write down what they said then I would fix them to a ribbon and hang them around the mantel or window to decorate the house. In years past the kids always wanted to do our leaves but to me it just felt like my feeble attempt to decorate in a way we could afford and I thought it just looked tacky until this year. This year I actually took some time to read back through some of those thankful leaves remembering some of the events that were taking place, remembering how much things have changed and realizing that time is moving through the universe at such a rapid pace that I am almost out of breath. If I blink it will all be gone! And then something hit me -- what if this were the last holiday that I got with any one of the people in my home? Now don't get me wrong -- everyone is healthy & happy and I am not such a pessimist that I think that the sky is falling but looking back at those Thankful leaves I realized that anything can change with the direction of the wind and that no matter how many "traditions" I put in place that this time, this place and this year will NEVER be this way again and really this is how I need to look at every second of my life. And how many times even this year I have also complained about those "traditions" that needed cooking and prepping and preparing and planning -- shame on me! This time is fleeting and while there are extended family situations that I'm not looking forward to, there are traditions and memorable family times that I want to create and cherish inside my own four walls. So I am thankful that G-d gave me the vision to start this tradition of tacky thankful leaves long ago and that He gave me the wisdom to see what I truly am thankful for but especially that He gave me the insight to relax a bit and enjoy this moment of time because this moment is but a wink.
Patten for Thankful leaves to cutout for your own garland:http://kids.creativity-portal.com/images/projects/autumn/pdf/leaf-white1.pdf
© Copyright 2009 Jacque Ward http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/wacque/
