Starting Traditions in a Season of Uncertainty
Right now, I think we are all just longing for normalcy. In a year of uncertainty and change we just want what is familiar. The other day it hit me that I had felt this longing before. Only last time, we had uprooted our family and moved to Guatemala—thousands of miles from our family where everything from my language to my grocery options changed. We moved our family to Guatemala in September which might have been the hardest time of year to say goodbye to the familiar.
We quickly missed our fall traditions of apple picking and pumpkin patches, and don’t get me started about apple cider slushes. However, that was just the beginning. Next would come Halloween. While we did dress up with some fellow missionaries and ex-pats, we couldn’t trick or treat in a country that doesn’t celebrate Halloween. Soon after, we missed our families while having Thanksgiving dinner at a friend’s house (minus the turkey because they were so expensive). And then came the hardest of all: Christmas. We watched on social media as our friends took their little ones on Polar Express rides and to eat cookies with Santa. While we felt unsafe even driving around to look at Christmas lights like we had been accustomed to doing.
Something beautiful happened in that season of change and unfamiliarity though. I was determined to make memories with our two-year-old that was finally old enough to enjoy Christmas, so we got creative. I spent hours on the internet coming up with fun traditions that we could start at home with minimal supplies. From that year, some of our most treasured traditions were born: always dressing as a family for Halloween, Polar Express Night, and Grinch Night. Each of those traditions was born in a season that seemed to be full of missed experiences. However, three years later, they are truly some of the highlights of our year and the traditions that we hope our children will carry on for years after.
It looks likely that in this season of COVID-19 there will be a lot of canceled events and missed parties as we approach the Holiday season. At first thought, it is easy to just write 2020 off as the year that was canceled. However, it doesn’t have to be that way. Maybe, just maybe, this can be the season that you and your children will look back with fondness as the year that began your most treasured traditions. It may take some effort and creativity, but if you try there are so many memories to be made at home with your kids by your side.
Psalm 90:12 says, “Teach us to number our days, so that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” Our days with our children are numbered. We only get 18 of each special holiday before they reach adulthood. Use this season to be intentional. Start some traditions that your family can look forward to even when life returns to normal. 2020 doesn’t have to be a loss, it can be the year that your family never forgets!
Making Each Day Count,
Stephanie
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