We Interrupt Our Regularly Scheduled Programming . . .

It was with high hopes that I intended to publish another post in our RV ALASKA series this week.  I’m “this” close to finishing up the trip, and have only a few posts left – including the final, “Alaska by the Numbers.”  But, as it often happens, real life gets in the way, and I find myself up to my ears baking Christmas cookies, wrapping gifts and planning Christmas dinner.  You can expect the next RV ALASKA post shortly after Christmas.  For now . . .

No matter what holiday you celebrate at this time of year, chances are traditions are part of your celebration.  Traditions bind family and friends together; skip any of the most beloved and something about our world doesn’t seem quite right.  At our house, Christmas would be incomplete without dozens of cookies, the lace angels on the tree, and the kids (now 25 and 30) checking to be sure that someone moved Baby Jesus from behind the manger to be with his parents on Christmas morning.

My tradition of baking dozens of Christmas cookies dates back to when I was a little kid “helping” my mom with her holiday baking.  I still bake the Marzipan Cookies we made together every year, even though the decades old, well-stained recipe requires gentle handling.  Yesterday, as I was finishing up this year’s final dozen, I wiped down my Harvest Gold Kitchen Aid mixer.   That mixer brought back a whole load of holiday memories – all of them as warm as freshly baked cookies right out of the oven.  My mom bought the mixer back in the 70’s when Harvest Gold and Avocado Green were all the rage.  After Alan and I were married, the gold theme was perpetuated in our new home.  I bought a new, white Kitchen Aid for my mom, and (with her blessing) took her old gold one that matched our new refrigerator, stove and washing machine.  (Both the refrigerator and the washing machine are still running!)  We celebrated our 45^th wedding anniversary this year, so I know that mixer is more than 45 years old.  Yet, every year, it reliably churns out dough for the dozens upon dozens of cookies I bake.  (The record was 80-something dozen, back when the kids were in school.)  That mixer is as much a part of our traditions as the Christmas candleholder I made in kindergarten.  It’s made of clay, and painted green with red and white dots.  It must have gotten pretty hot in our upstairs storage area one year, because now the red candle in it has a noticeable bend.  It doesn’t matter, though.  My little candleholder goes on display every year in its own special place, bringing back memories of my kindergarten classroom and the smell of fresh paint.

No matter what holiday you celebrate, no matter what traditions you hold dear, may the spirit of the season - which is loving and giving - fill your hearts this December and remain with you throughout the coming year.

“May God give us grateful hearts, and keep us mindful of the needs of others.”  (Unknown)