Well Christmas is in the bag. No that doesn't mean that the decorations are down, although if I had my way I would take the tree down after the presents are opened. Something about a tree that is all bare underneath after weeks of filling it up just depresses me! I will start the dismantling process tomorrow.
I thought a lot about my mom this Christmas. She wasn't the easiest person to get along with but for some reason I keep thinking about all the things she did do for me over the years. It's easier than pondering the bad, although the bad is there, it no longer has any power over how I process things. Anyway. It was a bit of a bittersweet time as I remembered lots of things that we did as kids, things she did as traditions and things that mattered to me that she did. I also thought a lot about my dad. He was a sweet and loving human being and I loved him dearly and miss him terribly.
It was no great surprise then when on Christmas Day our son Matt opened his present from our son Ryan and it almost instantly brought me to tears. Ryan is a gifted knife maker and wood worker (psst. He has a shop on etsy where he sells them!) if you are interested go to Bales Custom Knives and you will find his etsy shop. These knives are works of art really and are so incredibly beautiful! He also loves to smoke a pipe (all my boys do but more on that later). Matts gift was a beautiful folding wood pocket knife made out of Iron wood that my dad had given to me and to my husband. It was stunning and so COOL! The next thing was a cigar box. Ryan had made Matthew a beautiful hand made pipe and given him several different kinds of tobacco. I grew up smelling tobacco on my dad, cherry tobacco. It smelled so wonderful and as long and I can remember he smoked a pipe. My dad was also born on Christmas Day, so each year since my dad passed away, in honor of their grandfather, the guys all get together and smoke a pipe of tobacco. They have all gotten pipes from my dad and now it has become something of a collection of their own to try new tobaccos and new pipes. I picked one of the bags of tobacco up called Old Grandpa, and smelled it and it sent me straight back to child hood. It smelled exactly like my dad!!! It was probably the most precious gift of the day!
So as I blog more and if any one is reading this (which my counter says they are) I would love to have feedback from you guys. What are your thoughts about traditions?
After the first of the year I want to start talking about my DIY experiences and things like that, added with some of the spice of my life, which sometimes can border on the ridiculous! Let me know who you are out there!
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