Sweet Lorane Community News, October 27, 2022

Fern Ridge-Tribune News
The Chronicle (Creswell)
Sweet Lorane Community News
October 27, 2022
By Pat Edwards

The holidays are, once again, approaching way too fast. I walked into a store a few weeks ago—it was barely October or possibly before our trip in late September—and was horrified to see the aisles lined with cases of Christmas merchandise ready to be put on the shelves as soon as the Halloween stuff was due to be displaced.

Our family’s holiday traditions and activities have been transitioning over the past decade or so as the numbers of grandkids and great-grandkids grow. Jim and I are at the point now where we only buy gifts for the children. As our grandchildren become adults and marry, they begin forming their own family traditions, as they should, and as great-grandparents of a whole horde of great-grandchildren, we want to help instill a love of family and family traditions while not bankrupting ourselves at the end of each year.

Our holiday contributions to the adults involves lottery scratch-offs for Christmas and centers around family Thanksgiving dinners and a place to gather each year. In our house, as our numbers approach 25 or 30, there’s no way we can all sit down at the dining room table to eat. Instead, we all form a circle around the table, holding hands, as Stephanie or Chad says grace to give thanks; then we all dish up our plates and head for a seat at numerous tables, chairs and couches around the living room, family room and dining room where we visit, watch football on Jim’s ever-present TV, catch up on the family news, and reminisce about days gone by. There’s always lots of laughter as the children, having finished their meals, run around, trailing pull-toys, giggling, playing with the kitten and climbing on Papa’s exercise bike. Occasionally, in days past, as things quiet down, a group of us would start dealing cards at one table for games of Contract Rummy, while a smaller group of four settle in for a game of Pinochle.

For us, it’s not so much about the gifts we give or receive, but of the time we share with each other; a time for counting our blessings, filled with wonder on how fortunate we all are to have each other in our lives.

I’d like to be able to enjoy each holiday in its own time… to savor each one as it was meant to be; to form traditions that not always follow in the commercial path of glitz and glitter, expensive gifts and out-doing and out-spending others. Everyone needs to evaluate their own traditions and decide what works best for their own family. But for me, I usually walk past all of those Christmas aisles as I enter a store. When I’m ready to celebrate and acknowledge the holiday, I’ll follow our own traditions as we grow as a family.

Connie Suing of the Crow Grange asked me to announce their upcoming Community Holiday Potluck and Open House (formerly called the Crow Thanksgiving Dinner) to be held at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, November 10, at the Crow Grange. Everyone is asked to bring a side dish, salad or dessert to share. The grange will provide turkey, stuffing and mashed potatoes. There will be fun activities for the kids, crafts to make and take home, and visits with Santa. They will also be accepting donations of canned and non-perishable foods for the Holiday Helpers food baskets.

I’ll get information on the Lorane holiday activities and events in a future column.
Happy Fall everyone!!