Missing The Past

           Throughout this Lenten Season , I have read of many traditions that people were partaking in especially this past week . Each devotional started with , " as we prepare " . . . .  I feel like I should be doing something . Like I'm not doing enough .
           A sense of emptiness fills me and I start to analyze , reflect  and revisit my life . This is a pattern I have just discovered about myself ....a pattern that every Holiday or special event brings out in me . With everyone of these gatherings I have felt a wave of nostalgia , a sense of loss that was very hard for me to interpret . For awhile , I thought that maybe I was on a verge of something new......an experience that God wanted me to sort through .
          Alas , I think I figured out " this feeling " I've been having . I miss the traditions that we do as a family with our children .  My children are gone and there are no more special traditions to experience . They are placed on a shelf marked memories to be brought out and revisited at family gatherings .
        Children bring out something extra special to every occasion . It is called happiness and innocence . Things look differently through a child eyes . I miss those times . Now , I only have the memories .
       The positive side to all of this is that now I can make new memories with my grandchildren . Too bad they live so far away . Here's to all those TRADITIONS  we fuss about every year holiday . Happy Easter everyone .