GUEST POST. I don't think Daren Cable needs an introduction. He's famous for his first guest blog http://publiclookin.blogspot.com/2013/10/guest-post-its-just-game.html and well, just being an ok guy;)
Cinnamon, that’s what I remember. I can smell it like it was yesterday. I was probably 9 or 10 years old and had just walked home from school. It was a crisp, early December day and there was a dusting of snow on the ground. As I entered the front door of our house and walked into the porch, I was greeted by the same fantastic sight that was there every December as I grew up. Stacks and stacks of old potato chip cans that were filled with a multitude of Christmas candies and cookies. (Yes, that is correct, potato chips used to come in cans!) Our enclosed front porch was not heated so it was like a giant refrigerator for the weeks leading up to the big day. Cinnamon, there it was again. So strong it almost burnt my nose. My mom was in the house busy making Christmas hard candy. Most people would pour hard candy onto a cookie sheet and then break it into pieces once it hardened. I always thought my mom was some kind of superstar because she used to pour it into small rubber molds to shape the candy like Christmas trees, stars and Santa’s. I specifically remember the small Santa shaped candy that she made and that she always made them with cinnamon flavor. Evidently, on this day, she was making Santa’s. The Christmas trees were spearmint flavored and the stars were flavored like lemon. I really enjoyed the holidays as a child; it was a special time of year for my family.
It is amazing the things we remember and the pictures that are painted in our heads from when we grew up. What is it that you remember from your childhood? I’m sure we all remember different things, but I believe that most of our memories are made up of the little things. Even though the holidays were a big part of my younger years, I can only remember a couple of the presents that I received as a child. Most of what I remember are the parties on Christmas Eve, the cookies and candies that my mom made, my sister playing the trumpet during the Christmas Eve church service (after several glasses of wine back home at the party) and waiting on Christmas morning for my Dad to get out of bed before we could open our presents. Memories are not built on the material things we have in our life, but rather the relationships, traditions and experiences we gather, build and create over time.
I would love to know more about my parents and their life. What do they remember from their childhood, what kind of teenagers were they, how did they meet, and the questions just keep on coming. Wouldn’t it be neat to go back in time and be able to see their perspective on their lives? What was their passion? What did they want for their children? What did they envision me doing as an adult when they held me as a baby?
I have always believed that one thing we all should strive for is to leave a legacy once we leave this material earth. How will we be remembered? What will people think of when they hear the name Daren Cable? What will my kids, grandkids, great grandkids and even great great grandkids know about who I was and what I thought was important? Eventually we all will die, that is inevitable; but what will we leave behind to be remembered by?
I really wish my parents and grandparents had done more to document their lives. I would love to know more. My mom died when I was 13 years old, and one thing she did before her death was she wrote each of her kids a letter. She wrote about what we meant to her and the things she loved about us. It is something I will always keep close. So what can we do to leave something like this for our kids and grandkids? My wife and I started a new tradition a few years ago. Each Christmas we write a letter to each of our kids. We talk about the great things that happened that year and the things they do that we love so much. This letter gets put in their stockings that hang on their door. In our house, if the kids wake up at any time during the night, they are allowed to open their stockings (no peeking downstairs though). Putting their letters in their stockings gives them a little something extra to enjoy as they sit in their rooms in the middle of the night anticipating the big day to come.
Do yourself and your loved ones a favor this Christmas, write them a letter expressing your love for them. It is something they will hang on to forever!
When I thought I was dying, I started writing more often to my monsters. They have always enjoyed it when I write about them and to them. What a great idea with their stockings!!! Thanks for sharing, Daren Cable. Merry Christmas to your beautiful family!! Love, Laura