Well I’m back from another trip home to West Virginia. It was a short week, as always. It seems there is never enough time to do, to say, or to see all the things (or people) I’d like to. I try to squeeze in as much as possible but life… my own and everyone else’s… gets in the way. I suppose it’s that way for everyone. We all have our limitations, our work, our obligations, our fatigued bodies and souls to deal with and we never quite accomplish all we plan for our time off. My trips home never turn out exactly as planned but they always seem to be good. Things change as we get older, yet life continues on it’s sure and certain path always.

Day one was spent celebrating my beautiful grandson’s first birthday. Even though his actual birthday wasn’t until Wednesday, we spent Saturday celebrating. It was a good day surrounded by family, a perfect commemoration of the day he came into our lives. All the grandparents and of course Pra Babcia (Polish for great grandmother), aunts & uncles, mom and dad, a few excited children, and of course our young birthday boy were there. There was cake, along with presents and balloons. Mom and dad decided against using lit candles, which in turn led us to forget to sing ‘Happy Birthday’ until a little later in the party. In the end it all worked out and we thought it had been a great day being together. We couldn’t remember the last time before then that we had all been together like that, due to Covid.

The next few days I spent hanging out with Babcia at her house and visiting with my daughter while she was off work. My daughter and I shopped a little and talked a little. Babcia and I watched Hallmark Christmas movies and played cards, and I cooked dinner for her a few times. My best friend stopped by twice during the week to say ‘hi’ and we shared some much needed laughs and hugs. I spent one day with my brother; we headed out to his camp for the day and had a chance to talk during the ride. He and his wife recently acquired a beautiful property in the mountains where they can go to relax, and I am so happy for them. I got to see it and my dog got to run it. The weather was perfect, what more could you ask for? We had colorful leaves and sunny blue skies with a sparkling creek running alongside us.

Usually we try to have an early Thanksgiving dinner together, but this year it just seemed a little too much. With everyone’s schedules, especially having a couple of first repsonders who work odd schedules, it just didn’t work out. I must say that I missed having the big Thanksgiving dinner with my family. Realistically, it would be tougher to pull off these days with everyone’s diets changing with age. We did manage to put her little Christmas tree up and get a few wrapped gifts under it before I left. Maybe that’s what got me thinking about everything. I guess you could say I was feeling kind of nostalgic.

While I always love coming home and seeing everyone, and I always feel so full of love when I leave, this time I felt a little different. Of course I had a wonderful time with my loved ones. It felt good to wake up in my mama’s house in the mornings. It was wonderful hearing footsteps coming along the porch, building in volume and intensity until the screen door swung open with a loud, “Hi Babcia, whatcha doin?” from Sophie. Hanging out with Sophie watching cartoons, playing cards with Babcia, cuddling up with everyone’s dogs, rocking my grandson to sleep… all were wonderful moments. I guess it’s true that as we get older we yearn for days gone by. I missed having Thanksgiving with family. I missed the big gatherings that we had for the kids’ birthdays in our family when I was growing up. Of course, most of our birthdays were in warmer months which made it easier to have picnics, cookouts, and swimming at some lake.

I thought about times in years past, and the people who were there with us that have now passed on. Maybe that’s what I really missed, being with everyone and sharing these moments with everyone. Maybe that’s why we long to continue traditions; to remind us of where we came from and to keep lost loved ones fresh in our minds. It kind of feels like as long as we do what they did, they are still there with us in spirit. Things are different now. Work schedules, health conditions, where we live and work, and family priorities all dictate how we celebrate our holidays. Our schedules don’t always align. Menus differ for health reasons. Habits change as we couple and raise children. We all do the best we can with our time and resources. New traditions blend in with the old. That isn’t necessarily a bad thing, as long as we keep sharing them together.