A Family Tradition: Predictions

Christmas has already come and gone.  Every year goes by faster.  My eleven-year-old was just telling me the other day that she feels she's growing up too fast, can you believe that?  I remember being her age and I couldn't wait until I was 16 and able to drive.  Now when I see my three daughters growing up so fast and the magic of the holidays changing each year as they grow older and wiser (about the white-haired man in the red suit), I'm nostalgic for those days when they were still so small, believing in Santa and wishing for toys and dolls.  Now they wish for iTune cards, electronics and games but still play along with believing in Santa Claus.

For the past few years we have a family tradition as a way to appreciate each other and think about our future.  Every year during the holidays, predictions are written down about every immediate member of the family.  Some are downright hilarious and written just to be funny, others are more serious and attempt to predict where we'll be in a year.  For my husband and I, we try to set goals for family vacations, retirement, and hopes for the children.  After we write them, we print them and put them in an envelope and pack them with the holiday ornaments.  When we pull the decorations out the following year, we find the predictions and have a good laugh or are surprised by how some have come true. 

By making this a tradition, we hope to instill the process of goal setting with our girls.  My husband and I have done this for years and it's amazing to see that if you set your mind on a goal, it often comes true.  Once you've set it in motion by announcing it to the world it has a way of happening.  One year, just after we had our first baby, we predicted we'd be living in another country by the end of the year.  Before we knew it, we'd both been offered jobs in Europe and saw the power of setting goals.

So have fun with it, make them funny, silly, and then write down those that seem like a far-fetched dream, but one that you hope for.   You may be surprised to be living it next year!