Posts tagged Family Traditions
8 WAYS TO MAKE LASTING CHRISTMAS MEMORIES

The holidays were always Mitchell's favorite time of year. To him, it was a chance to snuggle with mom and dad just a little more, a time to look out the window and watch the snow blow by as the winter wind howled, and it was always a reason to make his favorite hot chocolate.

May your memories, new or old, be a light to your heart and a warm hearth for your soul.
— Christopher M. Jones | Mitchell's Journey

Over the years, our family has developed some traditions that have served us well and I want to share them with you. Yes, I carry the weight of grief this holiday, but I am also filled with gratitude for the time I spent doing what mattered most to me ... spending time with my family.

You can read about these traditions under seasonal/merrychristmas!  

I hope by sharing what we have done, you'll have ideas that help you make memories of your own.

To those who struggle with grief, disappointment or discouragement, I care. I know how long and cold the winter nights can feel. May your memories, new or old, be a light to your heart and a warm hearth for your soul.

---------------------------------

NOTE: This image is a preview from a Christmas video we're going to have ready just before the holiday.  I'll keep you posted when that book is available.

Loading Comments
UNEXPECTED
 
 

I stumbled onto a 2011 Thanksgiving photo of Mitch late last night and sent a copy of it to Natalie this morning. Our exchange, a brief yet tender one.

At least for me, grief isn't about being in misery. Instead, it's a state of longing and wanting our loved ones back. It's a longing so deep your knees shake, hands tremble, and eyes suddenly fill with tears. Grief lingers like a silent shadow - ever close, always near ... its weight undiminished by the passing of years.

Loading Comments
MITCH WOULD HAVE LAUGHED

I have no idea why I was filming Natalie run with my phone ... and I have even less idea why Ethan did what he did next.

All I know is I love my family and I'm grateful for the happy times.

The footage here is low quality and shot past dusk, but it's worthy of a giggle. I know Mitchie would have laughed - and that makes me feel close to him.

Loading Comments
LIQUID TIME MACHINES

As long as I can remember, I have loved fragrances. When I was little, my dad would hold my tiny face with his big hands; hands that always seemed to smell of Old Spice. To this day, 37 years later, that smell carries potent memories of my father ... memories of rainy days, ticks of toast, and those long drives to my dad's dental practice where I was so small, I couldn't see out the window. I just remember seeing telephone poles passing by, blurred by raindrops and thick fog.

Smells take me places far away and to memories long gone. Like invisible keys, they unlock something powerful inside my mind.

Fragrances also took Mitchell's worried mind to places that comforted him.

Tonight, Wyatt was looking through some of my long-lost cologne collection and was as curious about my memories behind them as he was the smells themselves. 

I still keep them, not to wear them, but because they are liquid time machines that only I can travel.

"This one I purchased on a hot summer day in Kentucky." I said. "I remember wearing it the next day as I was walking down a long dirt road in the middle of a prairie. The sun was setting, it was humid, and I couldn't see a building for miles. The sound of crickets were loud and beautiful. I don't remember being so hot and miserable in my life, but I loved the smell of that cologne and turned a hard experience into a good memory." 

Wyatt then handed me another bottle. "Oh, this one brings back strong memories of a dark winter far north in Canada. I was going to the University of Alberta. It was deep in the middle of a frozen winter, the air was 40 degrees below zero ... so cold, you lost your breath trying to take a breath. It was so cold, I wondered if summer would ever come again. This smell is forever attached to long, dark winters."

Wyatt was swept away with my stories and I could tell by the look in his eyes, he was assembling memories of his own and attaching smells to them. Pretty neat, these little liquid time machines.

Loading Comments