As I sit here after a long and productive day, Eric is also on his laptop, Savannah is measuring things with the tape measure and the pets are all sleeping in front of the fire. Rudolph's "Shiny New Year", is playing on the TV. Our lives have been busy today. We finally took down the Christmas Decorations. But not the Christmas tree. We took the Christmas Decorations off and are just about ready to add the Mardi Gras Decorations. As you may be able to visualize - the house is a mess, with a bit of everything still out! The kitchen is a mess with Rosemary Cheese Corn Muffins and leftover Chili. Eric and Savannah are also snacking on Boiled Peanuts - another mess being made.
TRADITIONS.... can sometimes be messy. I mean - its messy to make the decorations, put them up, take them down... all that goes with it. But the memories that are made are absolutely priceless! Being a Southern Momma you have to keep up with the traditions that were important to you as a child and also create those that are meaningful to your family.
Growing up we had a tradition at Christmas of decorating our tree together - so it looked absolutely perfect! One year my Momma was busy working at her Beauty Shop (Irene's Beauty Shop in Carthage Mississippi) and Daddy took Becky and I to the Sears and Roebuck Catalog store. That's also where we always saw Santa Clause. Daddy said Momma had been so busy doing everyone's hair that it was time we made it easy and bought an artificial Christmas tree. I think it was about the mid 1970's. It was a green tree - rubber texture with the most beautiful red velvet bows and cardinals on it. Daddy walked in and asked what it cost and said "We will take it"! I felt like we had to have the fanciest tree in Leake County that Christmas! One year in the late 1990's - things were especially tight. We had one of our most meaningful traditions. Momma had us string cranberries and popcorn to decorate our real tree. We also mixed ivory flake soap and water and made our tree look as if it had snow on it. We were creative and made most of our gifts for each other that year. My Grandma was especially proud of her sweatshirt made into a cardigan with poinsettia fabric decorating it!
My favorite memories are of Christmas Eve when we had a special dinner of fried quail, rice and tomato gravy, homemade biscuits (you would dip your home made biscuit in the tomato gravy, then in sugar and take a big bite and say "OH MY", layered salad made by me and a special dessert or two made my Gloria Walley - my second Mom who passed away this past March. After filling our tummy's and seeing who could eat the most quail, we would then sit down in front of a fire and exchange our gifts with Gloria, Dyal, Doug and Derrick Walley. ( We lived in Mobile, Al - so sometimes we would have to turn on the AC in order to have a fire) My sister Becky and I were always excited to get a new night gown and house shoes (that's what we call them in the south - not slippers) from the Walley's. We would also open a gift from Momma and Daddy. It was always a box of our fav candy. Mine was Recees and Becky's was a giant Hershey's kiss or a bag of the small ones - which she called "silver bells". Daddy's was Chocolate covered Cherries and Momma's was usually a pecan nut roll. The mess of the dishes after this night filled the kitchen. But the memories created with this tradition from the 70's till the mid 2000 are priceless! We have not yet been able to add this tradition to our family with the passing of my Daddy and also of Gloria. But I feel sure that we will soon. I want Eric and Savannah to experience this tradition too!
But for now I created a new tradition for our little family. Homemade seafood gumbo for Christmas Day. Yes - a southern food - but it is my Mother In Law - Priscilla from Ohio that taught me how to make the Roux! The next morning we woke to eating Sausage Balls (and we are doing that still) and seeing all the gifts Santa left out - unwrapped of course! Now my sister Becky seems to be confused, Santa leaves wrapped presents at their home and the gifts left by the parents are unwrapped! Not quite sure what she is thinking - but that is my sister! Christmas Day we left all our gifts sitting out and all our friends and neighbors would visit each other to see who got what. That is what I have Savannah do too! Traditions I have started for her are unwrapping a nutcracker the day we decorate out Christmas Tree. (I buy them at the end of the season, wrap it up and its a suprise even to me!) We host Happy Birthday Jesus Parties and donate items to the Crisis Pregnancy Center, make Gingerbread houses, gingerbread cookies, sugar cookies and Henry the Magical elf visitis us from the Day after Thanksgiving till January 1!
This year we created a new memory. The day after Christmas I had all my family, Momma, Sister Becky and BIL Tom, kids - Thomas, Chase and Haley and Eric's parents Dane and Priscilla here. All of us at the big dining table - Eric's Great Grandmothers Dining table! I am sure she and Grandma Arthur were looking down proud of the traditions we have kept and are creating for our families!
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