Antietam National Battlefield – Christmas Traditions
Is it just me, or does it feel like time accelerates with every passing year? As a kid, Christmas could never get here fast enough. Now, as an adult, Christmas arrives and leaves in a blink of an eye. My oldest Godson, Andrew, is 7. I’ve shared 8 joyous Christmases with him. My grandmother, Carolyn, passed away in 2000. I’ve spent 16 Christmases without her. I used to wish I could go back to the 90s when my departed loved ones were still here. Yet, today I could not imagine life without my Godsons, niece, and young cousins.
The transience of life is sobering. My best reaction to it is to love, live, and laugh. Spend time with loved ones and create lasting memories. Appreciate family time. My dad is the cook during the holidays. For desert, he whips up chocolate pudding pies. Standing at the table, he would hold up a can of Reddi-wip prepared to top off anyone’s pie. That was years ago. Then, one Christmas after he began watching cooking shows hosted by French chef, Jacques Pepin, my dad held up that can of Reddi-wip and in a dramatic French accent asked, “Mont blanc?” From that year on, whipped cream became “mont blanc.” 🙂
Trekking up to New Jersey for the day to visit relatives is another Christmas tradition. This year was special because my Godson, Andrew, joined us. While the adults talked and my aunt prepared a traditional Italian fete, Andrew and I spent time with our 11-year old cousin, Caroline. Caroline told us about her cheerleading competition in Orlando (her team came in 2nd place!) and Andrew stayed close to me, his shyness apparent after meeting Caroline for the first time. However, Caroline cured his shyness by bringing out the Xbox 360. 🙂 Andrew became quite talkative even telling us how he beat an 18-year old at a video game a few weeks ago.
When it was time to open presents, my favorite moment was watching Caroline’s reaction when she unwrapped a Daryl Dixon action figure. My aunt revealed to me that Caroline loves The Walking Dead and Daryl is her favorite character. She was so excited and happy that she was speechless. All she could do was stare at the gift and then squeal at all of us. 🙂
Christmas back at home was just as meaningful. Dad prepared a turkey dinner with all the trimmings. Desert included mont blanc, of course. 😉 We opened gifts and we enjoyed family time. At one point, Andrew tenderly took my hand and said he wanted to play his new board game with me. We played. He won and he had to tell EVERYONE he beat Aunt Lizzy! I demanded a re-match, but he refused! Merry Christmas!
Have a wonderful week! 🙂
Lizzy’s Latest for this week is the White House Black Market Charlisa pumps. I will give my review of these pumps on Wednesday. For now, enjoy the pictures!
A woodpecker stole the show during our photo shoot at Antietam. While taking pictures, my dad and I kept hearing hammering. We thought construction workers were nearby, but we saw no one. Then, we spotted this little guy. For a bird this tiny, he made quite a lot of noise! I just hope he’s not hurting any “witness” trees! But, what beautiful colors on this woodpecker.
December 29, 2015 @ 3:46 pm
You look very nice. No one can tell from the pictures just how cold it was that day (brrrrr). When I see those of you on the rock (or should I say “mount”), I’m reminded of the little woodpecker that was pecking away in one of the trees behind you.
The narrative is wonderful. Your family is fortunate to have you for putting those memories to paper.
Had you been on the battlefield that day it became famous, they would have had to add the numbers of broken hearts to the casualty lists.
December 29, 2015 @ 4:19 pm
Thank you, Dad! Thank you also for reminding me how cold it was that day! It was freezing! I did get a picture of that pesky woodpecker. I will have to post that pic now that you mentioned it. 🙂 Preserving family memories is one reason why I enjoy putting this blog together. It’s not just about shoes, it’s about life! 🙂 Thank you for reading and supporting my blog endeavor! As my photographer, you know all the effort that goes into maintaining this blog!