Over the River and Through the Desert

My mother, my daughters, and my son.

Every year as part of our Ho...Ho...Ho...liday traditions

we make a holiday visit to celebrate Christmas with my parents, 

my kids grandparents, and my grands great-grandparents.

It used to be a time when all of my grands would go and we would celebrate Christmas with four generations under one roof. Over the years as a move made my parents home smaller, my parents health has declined, and my own family has swelled to 19 visitors our tradition has had to be modified.

In recent years we have combined it with our Christmas adult night out with our grown children and their spouses. One year we rented a huge van and picked up my parents and we all toured the local Christmas light displays together.

This past Christmas it was just my husband and I with three of our four adult children. My in-law kids were very supportive and they took care of the kids and the home front while we enjoyed our time together as a family.

This year we combined it with a birthday dinner out for my husband that our adult kids graciously treated us to. It was so much fun having our original little family unit together. Once the birthday celebration was over we stopped and picked up a couple of pies to share with my parents.

My parents were excited for our arrival. My father is 90 years old and he is hilarious. He kept us all laughing the entire evening. We learned something that night that we never knew about him. Back in the day when he was in the service he had written comedy for a radio station.

My kids left our visit saying that we needed to get my father and his routines on You Tube! While Dementia has made my mother very quiet she lights up when my father speaks. She would blush during his flirty remarks to her and it was absolutely delightful for all of us to hear her laughter.

I know that the years we have left of this favorite Christmas tradition are numbered. As my parents grow older I am so thankful that we have kept this Christmas tradition with them alive. The Christmas memories that we have created will be ours forever. Although, the tradition will one day come to an end the memories that have become ours over the many years of this special time together will live on to enrich our Christmas Seasons forever and ever!