Holiday Traditions: Please pass the stuffing and a double portion of your time

Traditions, we all remember them. Aunt Mary's traditional pecan pie at Thanksgiving...going to grandpa's house and climbing into his easy chair to smell the mixture of cigar smoke and sweet smelling soap on Christmas morning. The reason we all remember traditions so well is because they were a staple of our youth. A memory that became so ingrained in our minds that it has stuck with us. Experts say that as we age and our memories begin to fail, we tend to retain early childhood memories from our past much longer than those memories created just recently. If memories from our childhood are so robust then we need to begin creating positive memories in our children's lives so they can cling to them indefinately. Think of some of the traditions you value in your own life. These values and morals are what you want to instill in your own children's lives. For myself, I would like to pass down a tradition of giving to my children that they can cling to in their adult years. For as long as I can remember, I have desired to show my kids how important the giving of my time, money or resources is. Unfortunately, I have not taken the action step of physically doing it. Just imagining our entire family volunteering at a soup kitchen ... or even talking to my children about it seems nice but it is not enough. Kids need to see their parents actually walking the walk, not just talking the talk. If your kids are starting to sound like a broken record at the store, begging for everything and whining when they don't receive it,then it may be time to begin a family tradition of giving of your resources and time to a charity or organization. Just by showing a child firsthand that there are kids in their neighbordhood that are much less fortunate than they are will put a whole new spin on their reality. Homeless shelters, soup kitchens and battered women's shelters are all excellent examples of places that need help and can teach your kids a valuable lesson. Some children even begin looking forward to serving at these places and vow to dedicate their lives to service from these early experiences. Even if they do not enjoy volunteering, kids learn not to take everything for granted in their own lives and become more appreciative of their own blessings. A tradition of giving of yourself and your family is a great start, but you may have your own ideas of what traditions you want to begin. Think back to your childhood and conjure up memories of lessons you learned and what took place. Maybe it was visiting an aunt's farm to pick berries and feed the animals. Or maybe it was camping out at a lake with your family and catching your dinner. Start creating your own traditions now for your children, so they can have a storehouse of memories they can pass on to the next generation.