Reminiscing..

"Have an old-time Christmas for old-time's sake!" The Christmas tune was playing and I was reminiscing! Old-time Christmas! Seems that the older I get the more I long for things to be the way they used to be. I miss the kids hanging their stockings on Christmas Eve..I miss the family gathering around the tree awaiting the handing out of gifts..I miss the carols being sung in the car as we went shopping..I miss old-time Christmas! The family traditions are all being put on hold for a bit as my family is scattered far and wide. It is to be expected and is not a bad thing, but I do miss these things. For some reason, it is not a lot of fun to do these things by yourself! There were certain things that each child and I would do together that seemed to be "our" special tradition. For instance, ever since I can recall, my oldest son and I always watched the movie "White Christmas" on Christmas Eve. We would wait until all the hustle and bustle was quited down, the make some hot cocoa and settle in to watch the movie. I still try to watch it every year, but it is not the same as when he is here. Then there is the one particular little, odd thing that my daughter and I used to do almost every year. After decorating the tree, we would turn out all the lights in the house except the tree lights and then would lie under the tree. We would stare up through the branches, looking at all the ornaments and live in a fantasy world for a few minutes. Dumb? Maybe.. but to us, it was a special moment. That made it precious! Today, anyone seeing me under the tree might think I fell off the ladder or lost my marbles or maybe both! My youngest son and I always made special ornaments. These could be anything from raffia angels to beaded satin ornaments. With the overload of ornaments in the closet, it seems a mite redundant to make more. I am sure if I suggested it, he would reluctantly abide but somehow I am not sure he would really enjoy it now that he is an adult. These things are all things of the past..things I miss..things that I think about as I slowly get my house decorated. You know..come to think of it..I might ask if my son would like to make a few ornaments for old time's sake. And I might just call my daughter and ask if she would like get down on the floor and stare up through the branches and dream just for old time's sake! She in her apartment and me at home..should be interesting sharing a moment via the phone! And.. maybe.. just maybe.. even if we are not together on Christmas Eve, my oldest and I can watch "White Christmas" at the same time.. you know.. just for old time's sake....