I am so super excited to have today’s post come to you from the lovely Rachel Wojnarowski! I “met” Rachel through the Better Mom site and we have shared a lovely connection through the amazing interwebz. I hope you enjoy this lovely stroll down memory lane with Rachel!
As long as I can remember, I’ve enjoyed rolling out of bed in the morning for the most part. I know, you either are or aren’t a morning person. But the best morning of the year to get out of bed?
Christmas morning, no doubt.
The childhood years I remember the most, on Christmas morning, my younger brother and I woke up as early as we could force our eyeballs to open. And we sat quietly watching the clock, waiting for the moment that the hand struck the given hour our parents had given permission to wake them. One year, I think we were getting a bit older, I remember the clock reading 4 am when we snuck into the living room.
Sigh. Yes, our mother awoke and made us go back to bed.
I believe the approved waking hour was 7 am.
Sunday mornings continue the morning glory childhood memories for me. Combine Christmas and Sunday and wow did you ever have the best of mornings! I could hardly wait to wear the matching Christmas Sunday outfits my mother sewed for us. For the girls’ dresses, she would use the same fabric but not the same style. Each of our little personalities shined through- so she said. I think it was her way of letting us know we were special- just like snowflakes, no two alike.
Upon the gracious opportunity to participate in this series, I found it interesting that in my reflections of Christmas past, I didn’t have a favorite toy to name or something I wished I had gotten but never did. I just want to encourage all the gift-givers out there, that while giving gifts is a ton of fun and choosing gifts is fun, don’t sweat the gift-giving. While some gifts may be remembered for years to come, truly, the important part of gift-giving is the thought and meaning behind the gift. So if money is stressing you or expectations have you bothered, don’t let it get to you.
The best substitute for Christmas stress is making Christmas memories,
because no two memories are alike.
Rachel is originally a small town country girl who converted to a suburban mother of seven by way of life happening. She and her husband, Matt, enjoy caring for their busy family, whose ages span from 13 months to 21 years old, including a special needs daughter. Rachel leads community ladies’ Bible studies in central Ohio and serves as an event planner and speaker for special needs parenting groups. She is a member of Ohio Writers’ Guild and the National MPS Society; and loves to inspire others through her blog by sharing faith, family, and fun. Wife, mom, reader, writer, speaker and dreamer, you can find Rachel on Twitter andFacebook.
Comments 1
So true! I don’t really remember “the best Christmas gift ever.” Someone asked that recently, and when I couldn’t think of one, I wondered about that. I think it is because it isn’t presents I remember. It is all the love, the sewing my mom would do (love your story of that!), the music, the lights on the tree. The ambiance my mom created for us. The most beautiful gift of Him, celebrating Him in church. Oh, I remember the fun of opening gifts, but not the gifts as much as the time of doing that. Thanks for sharing your memories… they truly are snowflakes, unique… .