Monday, November 2, 2009

Grinched

My daughter's newest favorite book is How the Grinch Stole Christmas. She wants me to read it over and over to her night after night. I realized this weekend, as the calendar hit the first of November, that I feel a great kinship with the Grinch. I have a horrible feeling in the pit of my stomach about the holidays. As much as I hope I can push past the stress of the in-law get togethers and all the planning to get to the magic I never seem to be able too. As a kid I remember all the fun stuff. The glittery magic of Santa and the many traditions of the season. The thing that I have realized is that that is what we as parents want the kids to remember from their childhood. We don't want them to shoulder the family drama or the monetary problems. We need them to see only the warm fires and the pretty packages. We want them to bake cookies without thinking of the calories. We want them to say what they are thankful for around the holiday table without reservations or maybes. We need them to be innocent and gullible because that is what the best memories are made of. They have plenty of time to realize that there is always something more going on behind the curtain. For now I want to try and push aside the heaviness of trying to pull the wool over their eyes and recapture the magic. I want my heart to grow a few sizes and I want to remember what it is like to enjoy the season.

2 comments:

For Kicks and Giggles said...

please do share with me how you figure this one out, i think you were inside my head on this. i am dreading the ..."getting to Christmas" days.

Heather said...

You're right, we want them to remember everything as shiny and good - even though we put ourselves through the wringer to do it. And for the record - I'm dreading the start of the Christmas season too.