Sappy McSap Pants

The Sunday after Thanksgiving we piled all the kids in the car and drove to the Asbury Park Boardwalk. It was a gorgeous day and the part of me that likes to pretend I’m a photographer wanted a chance to catch my kids frolicking on one of the coolest/kitchiest places on earth. Where better than Asbury for kitch and cool? Plus, my kids love the beach, almost more in the winter than the summer. I have done that job correctly-the job of raising beach bums.

It occurred to me during our “photo shoot” that we were pretty damn lucky that we can just head to the beach on any sunny Sunday. Then I got all nostalgic (as I’m known to do these days) and began reflecting on how great this crazy little unit of five is. We enjoy our own company. I started thinking back on all the fun stuff we do and how quickly it will all seem, “sooooo lame” to my kids.

There will be time when my kids want to be anywhere on a sunny Sunday except with us. I know though, that there will also be a time when they want to sit around our dining room table and listen to stories of the days we spent together. After all, people like nothing more than hearing stories of their past.

I decided to start a holiday journal. Not here-this blog is an overall journal of their lives anyway. No, I decided to get an old-fashioned notebook that we’ll pack away and take out only with our holiday boxes. Every year we’ll write what we’re doing, what we look like, who our friends are and any important stories of the time. Then every year when we first unpack we can look through years past and smile. Even in those days where all we’re doing is fighting over when we’re going to decorate amidst dance recitals, and football games and work schedules we might have just a few minutes where we remember how lucky we are… to be part of this wacky family.