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Containing My Christmas Memories

Who would guess that an empty twenty-year old box of Nestle Quik could still evoke a smile with every December glance? Perhaps this post from 2008 will answer the question. The last paragraph is especially meaningful now that we have our sweet granddaughter (and a grandson on the way!) to share it with. 

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To most, this is a simple (and bare) Nestle Quik container. To me,
however, this brightly lidded container represents a priceless treasury
trove of memories.

When the boys were little, we created a
Christmas tradition that if they behaved throughout the day, they could
draw one or two slips of paper from the container and we, as a family,
would have to do whatever it said. Good behavior + family activities =
success! I’m not sure what it is with me and slips of paper, but here
were some of the activities they found inside:

  • Ride through Fountain Inn and look at the lights
  • Work on the Christmas puzzle (we tried to complete one a season – I think we need to reintroduce this one!)
  • Rent a Christmas movie or watch one of ours. Make some popcorn and cocoa. Change seats during commercials.
  • Family Instrument Night! (Can anyone say ear plugs?)
  • Sleep on couch bed (this folded out in our den where they could fall asleep watching Christmas movies)
  • Turn off all the lights in the house except for the tree lights and watch the classic “Santa Claus” together as a family.
  • Make up your own version of the “12 Days” and share it with everyone.
  • Each
    family member does an acrostic for the word “Christmas”. Time limit:
    10 minutes. Share it with the group and then display them in the house.
  • Pray for all those who have sent us Christmas cards.
  • Make a pallet for sleeping under the Christmas tree, turn on the tree lights and turn off all others. (The boys loved this!)
  • Choose your favorite Christmas CD to play. TV off!

Brian
and I enjoyed creating traditions for the boys while they were growing
up. We felt it gave them a sense of security and stability — something I
could never offer them during their very early years when I had no
relationship with Jesus.

We had a lot of fun, great memories were
made, and one day (in the future!) I hope to pull out the Quik canister
again. Can anyone say grandchildren? 🙂 

What’s one of your favorite family traditions — past or present? 

 

Why Glue When a Stitch Will Do?

A strap on my favorite pair of shoes broke a few weeks ago so I did what any instant-gratification lover would do: I googled “shoe repair Simpsonville SC” and chose the closest location to me. I wanted it stitched back together but this particular shoe repairman insisted that glue would work just fine. It was instant gratification at its best. I waited 5 minutes and paid 3.00. A dollar for each day the glue lasted.

Today, I drove a mere two miles down the road and discovered Simpsonville’s best kept secret in quality workmanship — it’s AAA Shoe Repair. He stitched my strap together in a matter of minutes and only charged me $5.00. He actually offered not to charge me because of the bum deal I’d gotten from the other place, but I insisted on paying him. His work was worth it.

Why did I settle for a $3.00 glue job when I could’ve had it properly repaired with a stitch for only $2.00 more? Instant gratification at its worst.

I have no problem passing a number of coffee places on my way to Starbucks—and now I’ll have no problem passing by the most “convenient” shoe repair place in Simpsonville to visit AAA just down the road a bit.

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