I remember every Saturday and Sunday as a kid the sights and sounds of my home. Autumn was a busy time of year for my family. My dad was a woodworker and he used this time of year to create amazing furniture, woodworking designs, and sold them to local craft fairs. My mom was bustling right beside him with her artistic talent, creating and preparing for these road shows.
As a child, I did not see it as work or a nuisance that my parents spent a lot of their evenings or weekends working on these projects. It came as a reassuring noise in the background, the sounds of power tools, paint displayed, saw horses prepped with projects to complete, and catalogs tabbed with all of the items that my dad would replicate with his tools.
I also was accustomed to the white noise of college football games playing in the background on our TV. My dad had a small TV that was positioned in his garage to watch as he would busily work. He would cheer on the teams or grumble when his opposing team made a touchdown. I didn’t really know why I was cheering, but I just thought it was fun to clap and give him a high five when the team won.
Sundays, my dad had football on in the house, while my mom made a special meal. We sat in the dining room on those days, she would light candles, and it felt like we were eating at an elegant cafe.
The welcoming smell of lasagna baking in the oven, fresh garlic bread, and her homemade ranch dressing to adorn a salad was one of the many yummy meals we had on a Sunday. It took time to prepare and we relished these meals.
Fast forward to 2021. . .
When the Holiday Country Farmhouse magazine was delivered to my house this past week, I put it to the side to enjoy for the weekend. I didn’t realize why I did that. It was just a knee jerk reaction. And, then Saturday morning, as I sat and drank my morning cup of coffee after going on a nice walk into the hills, I decided to open up the Farmhouse magazine.
I immediately began to tab the pages of what Scott could make, or what I could make. I started to get excited for the holiday season.
It was almost instantly that this magazine took me back to 1985, when I used to anxiously await the holiday catalogs and magazines. I felt that childhood innocence of getting excited for the holidays and what is yet to come. I also felt compelled to make a yummy dinner for Sunday. I busily prepared my homemade child verde that took a couple of hours to prep for our meal. My daughters asked “What is the occasion? Why are you making this dinner?”
I said “It’s Sunday, and I want us to have a special meal together.”
Am I going down nostalgia lane? Yes, quite a bit. However, I find more than ever it’s important for us as a family to carve out time for a special meal together, to create a project together, or to make goals for an exciting season to come.
The brain has an amazing ability to remember events through sights and sounds. I hope to spark warm memories in my children that they will hold onto for many years to come.
What memory have you put aside for many years that is waiting to shine again?
Try to create a touchdown memory this week.
Maybe it's a new recipe you have been wanting to try, maybe it's a holiday craft that seemed too messy, maybe it's music that you have missed listening to. These memories can be sparked again next year, by yourself and by the people you include in your space.
I can’t wait to hear what sights and sounds you bring back to life.
Oh, and That football game I am hearing in the background, well, thank you Dad.
I feel like I am standing right next to you cheering on the team while we make our holiday crafts together.
Comments