I am fortunate enough to have a great family. We all get along (most of the time) and support one another. This means I always enjoy our family gatherings during the holidays.
This past Christmas Eve we all gathered at my sister Kelly’s house to exchange gifts. This tradition has special meaning for all of us, since Kelly bought our childhood home from our parents when they downsized. There are obviously many differences between the Christmas Eve celebrations we had growing up in that house and the ones we have today, but some things have remained the same. The children still rush eagerly to the presents and tear into them as quickly as possible. The adults still get to enjoy good food and the companionship of family as we (somewhat more calmly) exchange our own gifts. The dynamics between us have changed as we have grown older and had children of our own, but it is still a great joy to be able to spend time with my mom and my siblings.
Midway through this Christmas Eve, I noticed my older sister Margaret, a long-time art teacher and current school administrator, working with our 12-year-old niece on a drawing, using art materials from a present our niece had received. Ever the teacher, Margaret was listening to our niece and encouraging her as she drew. It turns out the drawing was a picture of me – I was sitting across from them. I absolutely loved the drawing when my niece showed it to me. I just wish she had given me a little more hair!
Towards the end of the evening I watched my niece go over to her Aunt Margaret and give her a warm, heartfelt hug and thank her for helping my niece with her drawing. I smiled and remembered my last Words of Encouragement, when I talked about the value of really listening to our children.
I hope all of you had a wonderful holiday and got to spend positive time with your families. I’m excited to begin a new year of Words of Encouragement, and I hope you will continue to enjoy and draw inspiration from them. Please keep an eye on this blog – we plan to expand it in the coming year, starting next week with the addition of some blog-exclusive content.
Have a great weekend,
Ro
Ro thanks you for advancing my career, (currently an SDT but with your words of encouragement…)
One of my first drawings was of a cowboy hat for my best friend at the time, Ro Waldron. Those days are still very clear to me. I learned about sharing and caring from you. For all of these years later, like you said, although we have changed, we are still a very close family.
Happy New Year Ro!