Auntie Jen's Family Trees: Week 50: Tradition

In my family, we don't have a lot of what you would call, "Traditions". Things have changed over the years and nothing has really been consistently passed down. I do have a lot of memories of spending time with my family for the holidays. But there is one tradition that my husband has been doing with me for years, and it all started on our first Christmas Eve together as husband and wife.

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Journal Entry from 12/25/2002 1:30am:

Well tonight has to be the one of the most best nights of my life. First of all, it started snowing yesterday and just finally stopped. It is so beautiful outside. One dream has come true so far. I get to spend the first Christmas with my husband and it happens to be a white Christmas.

For Christmas Eve, we spent it with his parents at his house. All of the family was there. While we were all doing our own thing, Mark started to open the window on the front door, and fix a speaker by the window. We were like, "What is he doing?" Finally, he led me outside for our slow dance together in the snow. (Brief history: About a year ago when Mark and I were working one night together at One Way, it started to snow and he told me that he wished he had a girlfriend at the moment to slow dance with her in the snow. I was hoping that I was that girl for that moment.) We danced to POG Christmas songs. It was pretty.

So, we come home to my parent's house to stay the night for Christmas and Mark and I are sitting in front of the TV, cause he wouldn't let me go to bed. Why? I did not know. All of a sudden, 1:00am rolls around, officially Christmas. So he turns the TV off and hands me my Christmas card. It was a beautiful card. In it, he had written about a dream he wanted to share with me that night. But I would have to read about it in the Book of Wife. (Brief history: About a year ago or so, Mark had started writing letters to his future wife and called it, appropriately, the Book of Wife. I have only been allowed to read certain entries at certain times, and now it was time for the Christmas entry.) The entry was a few pages long, describing how he felt and what he wanted to do with his wife on Christmas. The ironic thing was the letter was dated December 25, 2001, 1:00am. Exactly one year ago. Finally, it stated what he wanted to do. He wanted to slow dance with his wife in front of the Christmas tree listening to music. So he started the music as I was finishing reading. The first song was the first song we ever slow danced to: I Don't Wanna Go by Avalon. The second song was a Christmas song by Martina McBride: O Holy Night. And the third song was the song Mark and I had deemed as one of our songs: The One by Gary Allen. I was crying the whole time. Just to have the music playing, the lights flashing on the tree, beautiful snow outside, and the man of my dreams in my arms... FOREVER!

But wait, there's more...

When we finished dancing, he pulled an ornament off the tree that was in the shape of a red mail box. He handed it to me and told me, "You've got mail". So I opened it and there was a kleenex inside. I unwrapped it and there was a necklace inside. It was one of the necklaces with a grain of rice inside. And on the rice he had written on one side, "MNJ" (Mark and Jenni) and on the other side, "Forever". I burst into tears again. The necklace itself is beautiful. It has purple beads (My favorite color) and the glass that holds the rice is in the shape of a heart with a rose inside.

So here I am now, writing all what has happened tonight and it is isn't Christmas morning yet. I can't wait to see what else he has instore for our lives. Praise God for your Mark, my wonderful husband. I love you more than words can say.

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That entry was from my Live Journal that I used to keep. I saved that entry and added it to my scrapbook. Each year from that night, Mark and I have the tradition of exchanging gifts on Christmas Eve and slow dancing in front of the tree. It's been 17 years, and we haven't missed one yet. This Christmas, our daughter has threatened to sneak up and record us slow dancing in front of the tree for Tik Tok. I'm glad she gets a kick out of us.
Now it doesn't snow every year, but when it does, Mark still tries to surprise me with a slow dance in the snow. A few years ago, while we were still living in the apartment, and we had some beautiful snow that was coming down. I was down at Mary Ellen's apartment getting ready to leave and found him outside waiting for me. Both Mary Ellen and I were wondering what he was doing. So I said goodbye to her and then all of a sudden, he started playing music on his phone and slow danced with me right there in the middle of the apartment complex. A few minutes later when I got upstairs, I received a phone call from Mary Ellen. She confessed she was watching through the window and thought that was the most romantic moment she had ever seen. I was so happy our moment had brought her so much joy.
We are 10 days away from Christmas Eve. I can't wait to continue this tradition with my husband this year. It is my favorite part of the holidays. What traditions do you have in our family for this time of year?