Letter to Family and Friends

Dear Pilgrim Families,

Recently I was driving one of my sisters and my parents home from the other side of the city and was reminded of a childhood family memory. We were stuck in slow moving traffic and decided to divert off the main road to find a smoother flowing route. Ironically, the GPS had us turning right, then left at the next street, then right, then left consecutively across a whole suburb and some beautiful streets none of us ever remember driving through. 

We were all laughing because my dad has always loved driving and as children, our Sunday afternoons were often spent with all six of us in the car. One of us would choose whether we would start going right or left first and then we would follow where the roads and turns took us (usually until we found a shop in a different suburb that sold icecreams!).

It made me reflect on what my own children might remember as childhood family traditions. I hope it is things like having a birthday cake for Jesus on Christmas morning or Christmas Eve, usually a pre-made supermarket cake because of everything else that was happening around Christmas, especially with a family birthday the same week. Maybe they will remember the one year when my daughter decided Jesus wanted a cake decorated as an angel and being an overachieving mum I decorated her 'merry-go-round' birthday cake, and a couple of days later decorated a dolly varden cake with angel wings for Jesus's birthday (who was I to argue that Jesus wasn't worth decorating a cake for?).

Maybe they will remember our tradition whenever they lost a tooth. With the first tooth they lost, I simply wrote them a note which they found sitting next to their bed when they woke up with an extra coin of pocket money. The note said how proud we were that they were growing up and that losing a tooth was part of that but there were so many other things that showed us they were growing up too. Each consecutive tooth lost had a more complex clue for them to find their coin, clues written backwards or cryptic clues to solve, or clues that led to a secret place with another clue until eventually the coin was found. Each time there were always some words of encouragement. 

Maybe it will be those things that we intentionally chose to do a bit differently or maybe it will be something we hadn't even realised we were passing on, like our work ethic, our commitment to help and serve others, an attitude of being grateful for what we have and being generous towards those around us. 

Whatever it is you do with your children, creating and cherishing special moments with your children is important. Please know that time spent with your child is an investment, your own family traditions will have a lasting impact, and it might be years later, but those memories will be significant for them.

You might do something simple like sharing a special meal on a birthday, having time to share your favourite stories, playing games as a family one night a week, hiking together, baking together, celebrating achievements, or taking a regular camping trip. I encourage you to be intentional about creating these moments and memories. They not only enrich your child's life, but also strengthen the bonds within your family and, although it might be hard to imagine where you are now, before you know it your children become adults and start creating their own traditions and memories.

Warm regards,

Kristen Heath

Administration Coordinator