As I was pondering my personal Christmas list, which I posted earlier, I kept going back to the song by Kelly Clarkson and redone by Amy Grant, "My Grown Up Christmas List." This always touches my heart during the Holidays and I want to share the lyrics with you:
"My Grown Up Christmas List"
Do you remember me
I sat upon your knee
I wrote to you
With childhood fantasies
Well, I'm all grown up now
And still need help somehow
I'm not a child
But my heart still can dream
So here's my lifelong wish
My grown up christmas list
Not for myself
But for a world in need
No more lives torn apart
That wars would never start
and wars would never start
And time would heal all hearts
And everyone would have a friend
And right would always win
And love would never end
This is my grown up christmas list
As children we believed
The grandest sight to see
Was something lovely
Wrapped beneath our tree
Well heaven only knows
That packages and bows
Can never heal
A hurting human soul
No more lives torn apart
That wars would never start
And time would heal all hearts
And everyone would have a friend
And right would always win
And love would never end
This is my grown up christmas list
What is this illusion called the innocence of youth
Maybe only in our blind belief can we ever find the truth
(there'd be)
No more lives torn apart
That wars would never start
And time would heal all hearts
And everyone would have a friend
And right would always win
And love would never end, oh
This is my grown up christmas list
This is my only life long wish
This is my grown up christmas list
One tradition that I looked forward to deeply as a youngster and even into my teenage and college years was that of decorating for Christmas. On the day after Thanksgiving, Mom and I would break out the totes and boxes labeled 'Christmas' and dig out layers and layers of house decorations, our stockings, and the tree. We would decorate the house all day, making it come alive with green and red. In the evening, we would make some hot cocoa and turn on Christmas music. Mom would lay out the ornaments on the table, while my job was to hang them on the tree. Each year, we would reminisce about where each ornament came from as though I had no idea. And we would laugh at the picture of me with Santa that we have kept to put on the tree. I will never forget this memory and how I felt during these moments preparing for Christmas. I plan to continue this tradition on with my own family, and I hope that Mom will want to share in this tradition with us. The joy that occurs on this special night is rare and lasts a long time. 
Another tradition that our family has is that of giving Christmas ornaments. Each year, us cousins would all receive an ornament from Grandma Sharon, based on what we had done that year. For many years of my childhood, my ornament was affiliated with basketball, volleyball, or softball. The year that I started college, Grandma gave me an ornament with books and a graduation cap. The year I shot a deer, I got a shotgun shell ornament. I still don't know how she found some of those perfect ornaments. I still have each of those ornaments and cherish them dearly. And I still look forward to receiving an ornament each year. I hope that Lucas looks forward to Grandma's ornament as much as I did growing up. It makes me sad to think that one day, hopefully really far down the road, Grandma will not be around to share this tradition with us. For now, though, I will be thankful that we are so blessed to have so many wonderful grandparents and family members to share our traditions with.
