Holiday Traditions 12.8.23

This ornament represents 3 different aspects of my life – 3 in 1 – way to go Mom! As a child and teenager, I loved to draw and one of my favorite subjects was Snoopy. I loved the Peanuts cartoon and the adventures of this loveable beagle. I rather fancied his ability to transport himself into any number of fantasy lives and his imaginative spirit and comical antics captured my heart.

When I made the decision to home school my younger son for several years, we decided he should join a local boy scout troop as a way to connect him with other kids his age. He thrived as a member of this small troop and worked his way through the ranks to earn his Eagle Scout badge. My husband and I, as parents, were active volunteers with his troop and it was a positive experience for us all. When I unpack this ornament each year depicting Snoopy as a scout, I’m reminded of much how that one decision in my son’s life made such an impact.

As a family, we loved to canoe and still do. When my sons were growing up, we embarked on several canoe camping trips over the years – to Algonquin Provincial Park in Canada, to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in Minnesota, and, later as they reached young adults, to the Debsconeag Lake Wilderness Area in Maine. My husband and our sons eventually converted our basement to a woodshop and built two cedar strip canoes which they use to this day on their own adventures. I might add that on the day of my older son’s marriage, he arrived at the lakeside ceremony via the water in his cedar strip canoe. What a precious, tearful sight that was!

Lots of memories to be cherished with this one ornament! 🙂