"What will your children remember? Moments spent listening, talking, playing and sharing together may be the most important times of all."
-- Gloria Gaither
Our youngest daughter went to college in Fredericksburg, VA, over 300 miles from home. It’s a beautiful town, full of character and history, which is right up my husband’s alley. Steve loved to see the town all lit up in its festive glory for the holiday season. It became a tradition to go down to VA together a day early when we picked Melissa up for Christmas break. We would stay at the Kenmore Inn, a historic old mansion that offered a comfortable home base for our exploring.
When Melissa graduated from college and we no longer had the excuse to go to Fredericksburg, it was a little bittersweet. So now that she is married and living in Alexandria, we decided to go visit her and Christopher and plan a day trip to Fredericksburg. I think the kids were more excited to see the changes to the college campus, though jumping in and out of the shops on Main St. was fun too. We found some great gifts for family members and had a wonderful lunch in the local pub.
Ironically, we watched the town’s Main St transform into the bustling sideshow for their Christmas Parade, and stores closed early to enjoy the event. We could have had front row seats, but we chose to get out of town before the traffic turned into a bottleneck. We didn’t get to the James Monroe Museum or the Apothecary where my daughter used to work in her 1780’s costume, but we had fun, and enjoyed sharing our favorite stores, gift ideas and spending time with each other.
The next day we explored Old Towne Alexandria, which is about 10 times the size of downtown Fredericksburg and has even more to offer. I see the tradition transforming before our eyes!
What family moments do you remember that you can repeat? What tradition do you want to resurrect? Or what new tradition would you like to start for the next generation? The sky’s the limit.
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