One-word Wednesday: Posers

Gramma with Mac and Bubby, posing on the last day of her visit.

Today's Christmas-y question:

What is one thing you will do—or have already done—this holiday season that you were unable to do last year?

Ornaments of Christmases past

At tree-trimming time every Christmas, I gave each of my three daughters a new ornament, beginning when they were all still quite small. Some years the ornaments given reflected a passion or hobby of each individual girl; other years, all three received similar ornaments with only a slight variation on a common theme. Every year, all were dated and hung upon the family tree.

With three new ornaments added for the girls each year plus a new one for Jim and myself annually, too, our Christmas tree became jam-packed with ornaments by the time the girls were ready to leave the nest. The paring down of the baubles was far more abrupt than the collecting. First it was Megan's collection that we wrapped up and sent with her once she became a newlywed. Next, Andrea moved up and out and on, taking her ornaments with her. Then, just a few years ago, Brianna and her seasonal stash found a new home, as well.

Now that Jim and I decorate our tree with many old ornaments of our own, plus nearly just as many new ornaments to take the place of those relocated to our daughters' Christmas trees, it's been especially heartwarming this past week while visiting my grandsons to see many of the familiar ornaments of Christmases past hanging on Megan's tree. Not only those I had given her through the years, but ones she had made herself or received from others, too.

 

Equally heartwarming to see hung in a place of prominence at Megan's house was an advent calendar I had made for my daughters many years ago, now providing a chocolate-y countdown to Christmas for my grandsons.

It's bittersweet to see old, familiar seasonal decor adorning a home so far removed from mine, in years and in geography. Every once in a while during this visit, I've been hit with the overwhelming realization that things will never go back to what they were, that time has indeed ticked along, those days are gone, and this is where we as a family are, what we will be from now on. Not that I didn't realize that—or be okay with that—already, but the confirmation of such sometimes comes in unexpected and occasionally uncomfortable waves. No more kids' ornaments hanging on the tree was and is just the beginning...and the end.

That serves as the bitter. The sweet? Seeing the enjoyment my grandsons now get pulling foiled Santas and chocolate balls from the very same crudely numbered pockets their mom and aunts once did, counting the days until Santa's arrival. Days that to a child move far too slowly. Days that to a mom—and now a grandma— moved far too fast and somehow, without proper notice, became years.

Today's question:

What holiday ornaments have you passed down to your children?

Photo replay: 'So precious'

For some reason, Bubby finds it all kinds of amusing—and a wee bit perplexing—when I tell him I think his face is "so precious." If there's a different word any more appropriate for him or his little brother, though, I have yet to come across it.

 

Have a beautiful day with your precious ones, no matter their age or kinship.

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow...in the desert

I'm originally from Minnesota and have lived the past nearly 40 years in Colorado. Fairly snowy states come winter time. Which means, for me, holiday time means snow time. Maybe not necessarily on Christmas Day, but at least a few snowflakes here and there in the weeks leading up to the big day.

My grandsons live in the desert. Despite singing beloved Christmas carols mentioning the fluffy white goodness and enjoying craftivities featuring snowmen in all their glory, Bubby and Mac are not all that familiar with snow itself. They simply don't see it at their place.

Determined to not let geography, meteorology and such stand in the way of Bubby and Mac enjoying some snow play, I packed and brought along a little snow to share with them during my visit this week. Not real snow, of course, but artificial snow. Snow in Seconds, to be precise.

True to its name, within seconds of mixing the powder with water, we had snow. And then the fun kicked into high gear.

Sure, it's not the real stuff. But until I figure out a way to pack the real stuff in my handy dandy grandma bag, it will certainly do.

Today's question:

How likely is it you'll have snow at your place come Christmas Day?

Successful gifting

Last night's festivities with my grandsons included swapping Christmas gifts. I asked Megan if we could open gifts early in my visit rather than near the end to give me a few days to enjoy watching the boys make use of the gifts—pillow chaises for movie time (and reading and resting)—that I'd made with love, just for them.

You never know for certain how things will go over with handmade gifts, especially those made for youngsters who have no filter when it comes to expressing their opinions and feelings about presents and other matters. It took no time at all, though, to see that the work I put into their presents was well worth it.

Along with an accompanying gift of a few movies—including Monsters, Inc., their favorite—and bags of Gramma's confetti popcorn as movie snacks, this is one gift to Bubby and Mac I can mark as a sure success.

 

Today's question:

What is your favorite movie snack?