Hi Paige! Thanks for finding the time to stop by my blog. Especially considering that your new book, Hellsbane, came out yesterday! You must be over-the-moon!
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Author Bio
Writing was never a foregone conclusion for Paige Cuccaro. She once had dreams of being a psychologist, a pediatrician, a school teacher, a photojournalist, a bartender, and/or an EMT. And then she met her husband and her world came into focus. Being wife and mother are her highest priorities and greatest joy. But escaping to the fanciful, sexy worlds twirling through her mind is an absolute necessity. Putting those worlds, and the cornucopia of characters that people them, on paper is just plain fun. Paige lives in Ohio, with her husband, three daughters, three dogs, three cats, a parakeet and a bearded dragon named Rexy, in an ever shrinking house. When she’s not writing she can be found doing the mom thing with a book in one hand and a notepad and pen in the other. Ideas come without warning and the best way to stimulate your imagination is to enjoy the imagination of someone else. |
When I asked Carmel what I should talk about, she suggested something Holiday related to keep with the season. I kind of perked up at that, and thought, “Oh yeah! It’s almost Christmas!” Which was instantly followed by, “Oh, yeah. It’s almost Christmas.”
I’d totally lost track of the time of year, but with good reason. My family and I just moved into a new house. The move started on November 18th (my birthday) and as of today (December 7th) we’re still not done. Ugh…
Moving through my birthday was no big deal. My birthdays notoriously suck (my fault. Low expectation, teamed with self fulfilling prophecy= annual birthday suck fest.) So ignoring the anniversary of yet another trip around the sun was no biggie. But moving during the Thanksgiving holiday totally threw a wrench in our traditions.
Too busy cook the traditional turkey I’ve done every year since I got married, I had to order Thanksgiving dinner. Our new dining room table hadn’t arrived yet so we ate off of the folding card table surrounded by boxes of our accumulated stuff. My children are older, 20, 18 and 15, but we’ve had our holiday traditions since they were little and the upheaval of the move had them missing that holiday spirit.
They all agreed that it didn’t feel like Thanksgiving. But when my youngest asked me if we were even going to have a Christmas this year, I was shocked. I missed our old traditions too, but I knew I wouldn’t let anything stop me from making our time together over the holiday special, traditions or not.
I decided to do what I could to save Thanksgiving and give my family some of that warm fuzzy holiday feeling despite the new, slightly less than ideal situation. After dinner, instead of filing into the living room to sleep off the turkey in front of the TV, I had my daughters pick a board game. (Made sense, I mean we already had the card table up.) We sat around that tiny wobbly table for hours, playing games, talking about school and friends and hopes for the new year. And somewhere along the way we let go of our disappointment over lost traditions and realized that the real tradition, being together, was what made the holiday FEEL like the holiday.
So yes, to my youngest child. We WILL have a Christmas this year. It may not be exactly as you remember, but I’ll be there and so will your dad, and your sisters and through us, and you, it will feel like Christmas.
Turns out there’s really no such thing as tradition. I mean, even long held traditions change every year. Kids grow up, move from the little people table to the adult table. One year they bring toys to the holiday gathering, the next year they bring boyfriends. One year they’re full of teenage attitude and a few years later their chasing their own future teenager around the holiday table. Life is ever changing, and traditions shift to accommodate. The only real constant is our love for people dear to us. Hold on to that, and you’ve held on to the best part of any tradition.
So what about you guys? Anyone else struggling to hold onto old holiday traditions, or muscling through new ones? What do you hold most dear about the holidays?
Thanks, Carmel for letting me post today. Surprisingly, I found it very cathartic! *smile*
Paige is giving away one eCopy of Hellsbane to one lucky follower! International. Please read my Giveaway Policy before entering.
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About the Blogger
I review Urban Fantasy and Paranormal Romance books with a focus all things werewolf. Based out of Ottawa, Canada
Owner, designer and main blogger behind Rabid Reads. Avid book reader, snowboard bunny, video gamer and Supernatural fan. I love all things paranormal, werewolves especially. Oh, and I’m Canadian, eh!
We don’t really do any of the things we used to when I was little. No tree, not many presents anymore. I guess the only thing we still do is eat something special for supper.
Hubby and I are still somewhat recently married but have no kids yet so we don’t have any established traditions. The only tradition we do is go to his family’s giant reunion every year and do a secret santa.
We get the boys to decorate the tree every year!I have 4 boys ranging from 10 to 2. We have had some interesting trees!
Being a military family the only tradition we really have is trying to make it home for the holidays. For me family is the important thing this time of year!
Even though my boys are 22 and 20, they both insist on the same holiday traditions. My oldest son just got married last month, and his bride’s family lives in Ohio, so I’m spending extra time with her we can add some of her traditions too. I was in her position 24 years ago, so I remember how homesick and lonely it can be!
Happy Holidays!
Gena Robertson
robertsongena@hotmail.com
Kind of. Myhusband likes the tree up the day after Thanksgiving and my family always did it the week before Christmas. It’s hard to change.
vsloboda(at)gmail(dot)com
Our tradition is a simple but jolly one. Cook up a storm and spend time with family. It’s such a great way to spend the holidays.
Great post! Our Thanksgiving this year wasn’t our family’s traditional norm, either with our daughter not being able to come home for the holiday. So we took Thanksgiving to her. We ate on Friday instead of Thursday, but it was no less special. 🙂
As they get older and have their own families, I find we struggle as we try to combine our traditions with their newly married spouse’s family traditions. They are trying to develop their own traditions as their children come along. My youngest will be getting married in the spring so the last of them will be out of the nest. Generally over the holidays we try to eat together as much as possible and spend an evening or two playing non-stop board games.
The big tradition is that all four of my sisters and I still go over to my mother’s house Christmas morning, and she still hangs stockings for us, even though most of us are in our 40s!!
@Christina @ Twin Dragons – My Xmas isn’t anything special anymore either. It sucks getting old!
@Julie S – Making news ones can be fun too!
@nat – I can only imagine!
@Traemac – Taking the time is the most important part I think.
@Gena – Aaww, that’s super sweet of you! 🙂
@Victoria – It sure is!
@Na – I only get to eat turkey twice a year and I always take full advantage of the spread!
@Amanda Bonilla – That’s great! 🙂
@Lisa Richards/alterlisa – I love a good boardgame. Glad to hear that I’m not the only one.
@Julie W – My guy gave me a stocking last year. He’s a keeper!
We do most of the old things,We pick out and decorate the tree together. We bake cookies together and go to church together. New traditions or old, the important thing is, we spend the holidays together!Thanks for the giveaway! I hope you have a wonderful holiday season!
I love to be together with my family, unfortunately this year it will be only my parents and my granny, because my grandpa died 2 months ago and my paternal grandmother in February this year. So it will a difficult Christmas this year
I wish we could go back to my traditions where we would all go to my grandparents on Xmas Eve then visit my dad’s family on Xmas day.
My husband kids and I always decorate our tree and house together ..Everyone in my family no matter where we are always go to my grandmothers on Christmas Eve .We have dinner ,exchange gifts and just enjoy each others company for the whole evening its wonderful.
flanagan@mebtel.net
I think my family is finding it hard to keep up with traditions such as buying a tree and decorating it.
We moved two states away from out entire family about 4 years ago and since it was a long drive and too expensive to fly us all home for the holiday’s and being my husband only got one day off, we were forced to sort of start our own traditions. We were use to the big family christmas’s and then it was just our own little family. We had a lot of fun doing our own things. We just moved back to our home state a few months ago and since we have been away for a while we are being pulled in a million different directions so we are now struggling to keep the traditions we had started while trying to embrace the family traditions. 🙂 complicated lol
As my family continues to grow and the young ones get older and new ones are added we sometimes struggle to hold onto old traditions, but we do try to embrace the new ones. Every year is a little different, but we make the most of it because we always know that at the very least we’ll all be together. Thanks for the giveaway & Happy Holidays!!!
yadkny@hotmail.com
What I hold most dear about the holidays is time spent with my family. Christmas has always been “family time” in my family, and we all get together not just for Christmas but New Year’s as well.
Thanks for the giveaway!
GFC Darlene
darlenesbooknook at gmail dot com
We kind of wing it to be honest. We make new traditions and occasionally let go of the old ones each year. The important thing is doing it all together I think 🙂
Thanks for the giveaway!
Each year, bit-by-bit, holiday traditions appear to be getting chipped away at by changing times and people losing focus of the importance of family and tradition. So, it’s natural (but not easily accepted) that my once large and close-knit family that used to gather around and have a reunion of sorts during holidays celebrations has now scattered to different ends of the earth on holiday with their own little family units. I still miss the spirit of the unity we once had, but times change and we have to find new ways to adapt…
Sarah