Proliferation of Pj’s!
As we move through the years and the holidays approach, we usually gravitate towards long-lasting traditions and try to hold on to the same yearly events and gatherings. But as we all know, things always change and never stay the same. There is both sadness and freedom in this truth. The shapes of our families change. Kids grow up, people move away or we lose someone that we love. It is hard to envision replicating the same loved traditions with the changing shapes around us.
What I have noticed with each greying hair is that traditions are so important and can be touchstones but they don't need to be something that we hold too tightly to. Traditions need to breathe, change and shift to the years just as we do.
What would have seemed unlikely to me 5 years ago is one new tradition that has quietly taken hold of my heart and has become a fuelling part of my holiday celebrations. This new blessing has been the growth of the Creating Space Yoga PJ drive for the Halton Children's Aid Foundation.
It began years ago as a way to give to the children in our community who were not as fortunate as my own. It broke my heart to think of a child who perhaps didn't feel as important or loved as my two children. I hoped that they felt the warmth of a new pair of cozy pyjamas on Christmas Eve as well. I wanted to share this tradition with others. What I have found from that desire to give was the excitement and joy that I have received in return. Each year my enthusiasm grows and my desire to reach more children blossoms. I love watching the piles of pj's grow at the studio and I love seeing the faces of my students as they share in this excitement.
But the day I love the best is when I get to load up my car and make the delivery to the CAS. I feel so proud of our community and our capability to give. It has become the tip-off to my holiday season. I feel the Christmas spirit and what I receive far exceeds what I can give. It does not go unnoticed that I have the CSY community to thank for the annual Christmas gift they give to me. Thank you, thank you!
So an unlikely event has now become a cherished Christmas tradition for me. I have loved and I have lost, but I now know that I have the power in me to let the Christmas spirit glow wherever I am along my life journey.
The car is loaded and on the way to the Halton Children's Aid Foundation. We collected over 200 pairs of cozy pjs!!! Special thanks to the Oakville Rangers AAA Atom hockey team and the Grade 3 girls at St. Mildred's Lightbourn School for helping us out.
Ho! Ho! Ho!
