Our developing traditions...

I love that the kids are now old enough to begin developing our own Peterson family traditions, and I have been spending much time thinking about what I'd like these to be. Well, on Saturday we embarked on one, begun last year in earnest, that is wonderful and bittersweet at the same time.

We packed up and headed down to my grandma and grandpa's house in Gladstone so that Hannah and Noah could help decorate their tree. We did the same last year at my grandma's request, and it was great fun. This year was extra special because Kyle, Hope, Reid and Jude were able to join us. Hannah put the ornaments in just the right spot and set up the nativity characters with great care. Noah kept taking the ornaments off and putting them back on and kept trying to talk me into letting him eat another candy cane. When the festive (and by festive, I mean annoying) singing stuffed animals came out, Reid and Noah had a pretty intense dance party. And Jude watched intently and cooed at the whole affair.


Great family fun, right? Without a doubt. But the bittersweet part, for me, is the realization that this will be a relatively short-lived tradition. My grandma and grandpa are nearing 90 years old. Neither are in the best of health. In fact, each time we visit, my grandpa seems noticeably more tired and frail. They've both lived long, full lives full of generosity, faith and love-- and when it is their time, will be called home with joy to join their Creator and Savior.

So while I treasure these moments and experiences we still have the opportunity to share, and try to commit them to memory and photographs, I also find myself preemptively missing the fun times my kids will be unable to share with them as they grow. Since our physical bodies are transitory and age will always give way to youth, it creates this irony of brief tradition.