Timeless Christmas Memories.

They seem to flood our hearts when we least expect them and even when we call them up purposefully. What makes memories important? They connect us with our heritage, ancestors, and who we thought we were.

Who are the memory keepers? What holds our memories, waiting, like a long-forgotten treasure box, to be opened, rekindled, and admired. Photographs, storytellers, and food are a few. Some memories are meant just for us. Some are intended to be shared. Some are even too painful to be remembered.

Food holds special memories. My Irish girlfriend and I were reminiscing about bread pudding last week. She was making one to use up bread that had lost its freshness. My mother would make one around the Christmas season, or on rare occasions, there was older bread to be used. I can still smell the memory of the soft vanilla custard that encased the bread cubes, with a few raisins sprinkled in. Nutmeg garnished the top, and she made a hard sauce to go with it using butter, sugar, and rum. I still have the red porcelain baking dish she always made it in. Seanna asked what I supposed made these memories so special. Why do we have them? I like to think that when we pass from here and no longer taste food, memories of food shared connect us to our ancestors. They still have their finger in the pie. At least for me, I can sense my father from time to time looking over my shoulder and remembering my mother coaching me to move a little faster or slow down and pay attention to what you are doing. A lovely idea it is to share a memory and a cup of tea.

Maybe sharing memories makes them better.

Holding onto memories is not necessarily good. They serve a purpose: retelling the story of our life.

Yet, I admonish that holding on to our past may keep us from embracing the present. No matter the memory or how many we have, the present is what matters, and when we live in the present with hope, peace in our hearts, and love freely given, we can embrace the present without fear and create whatever we wish.

Are we meant to give memories as much credit as we do?

They are purposeful when they help us work out the past and build a new life, but we become stressed when we can’t remember or when a loved one’s memory capacity is lessening. Memories are tokens of the past, confirming we existed, but they lose their charm and purpose when they hold us in place and keep us from moving forward.

This Christmas, like many past Christmases, as the ornaments are hung and the tinsel flung, I will wishfully think of my ancestors and consider, with hope, future Christmases.

And amidst the sparkle and shine, I will remember this: Christmas memories are timeless, but it is our focus on the present with love, hope, and compassion that makes life worth living and celebrating.