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.