As a little girl, I loved when it was time for my mother to make sugar cookies and colored frosting. She didn’t bake a lot (and by “a lot,” I mean, “ever.” I am my mother’s daughter, clearly.) but these were the exception.
Rolling out the dough, laughing, listening to music and then choosing just the right amount of shapes for each section was always a highlight for me.
And when I look back, I remember it being idyllic.
But when I tried it with my own kids, I realized it was, well, NOT.
Flour everywhere. Tiny, unwashed hands digging into the bowl and shoving handfuls in mouths before I could stop them. Fighting over who had more reindeer shapes and the warm, weird, limp thing that happens when dough has been manhandled for 20 straight minutes by toddlers.
I wanted a few cute photos. Partly because I wanted them to look back and see a beautiful childhood, but also because something about that tradition would make me feel like a great mom.
I know the imperfect is supposed to be alright, but sometimes it’s just depressing.
And I’m ashamed to say that many times I have let my expectations rob my experiences when I should have just loved them for what they were.
What traditions have you tried and felt “less than pleased” about afterward? What did you do to try and redeem them (and your emotions about them?) As the new year gets started, what can we do to make our own traditions without getting caught up in the ideal?
Enter to win a copy of ‘For Such a Time as This’ by Angie Smith.
From bestselling author Angie Smith comes her second children’s book, ‘For Such a Time as This’, a Bible storybook for girls that features 40 biblical retellings from prominent women in both the Old and New Testament. Illustrated once more by Breezy Brookshire, ‘For Such A Time As This’ is the pair’s second children’s book together following the success of Audrey Bunny.
For Such a Time as This illuminates the stories from the perspective of prominent women of the Bible, including Eve, Sarah & Hagar, Esther, Mary Magdalene, Gomer, and more with vivid and historical accuracy. Girls aged 6 to 10 will enjoy learning about God through the recounts of the Bible’s heroines and stunning illustrations. Summaries at the end of each story highlight the attribute of God to be learned and offer thoughtful reflections for both parent and child to takeaway.
