HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2009-12-24, Page 28While the expectations that come
along with the holidays can
sometimes be daunting, stripping it
back down to its essentials has been
the key to a Merry Christmas for
2004 Citizen of the Year for Blyth
and area, Steven Sparling.
“Christmas can be quite hectic and
it comes with a lot of expectations,”
he said. “About 15 or 20 years ago,
my mother changed the Christmas
rules in our family and gave us a
reminder about what we place
importance on. We had to get back to
the real meaning of Christmas, which
was being together.”
Since that revelation, Sparling
says, Christmas has been an utter joy
at his house. Expectations are gone
and family time has been brought to
the forefront.
“There are lots of expectations
around Christmas with gift-giving
and it can be exhausting,” he said.
“You need to worry about getting the
right gift for the right person, but
we’ve removed a lot of the pressure
and helped to manage expectations.”
Giving gifts has been reduced to a
name-picking system, where one
person buys a gift for another and
that is it. Not only that, but there is
also a spending limit.
Everything else, Sparling says, has
remained the same. Going to church
and spending time with family, both
immediate and distant remain staples
of the holiday season and under this
new management of expectations,
Christmas has returned to the
celebration Sparling says it should
have been all along.In order to manage time with hisfamily, Sparling makes a consciouseffort to set aside Christmas Day andwith any luck, Boxing Day as well,to spend with his family with no
interruptions.
“We try to keep it as consistent as
we can,” he said. “We’re all so busy
all of the time, but for a brief time,
we all have a respect for what’s
going on and we have one or two
days if we’re lucky to spend
together.”
This special feeling surrounding
the holiday season is nothing new to
Sparling. He can remember when he
was a young boy getting up as early
as he could on Christmas Day and
attempting to stay up as late as he
could that night. Even at his young
age, he was aware that Christmas can
come and go in the blink of an eye,
and he wanted to preserve as much of
it as he could and experience it for as
long as he could.
Sparling admits he is still like that
and he often finds himself trying to
clock as many Christmas Day hours
as he can. That, however, is not the
only tradition he has preserved from
his early days.
In his younger days, Sparling
convinced his parents to keep the
outdoor Christmas lights on the
house on all night so that Santa Claus
wouldn’t miss their house. And even
now on Christmas night, the
Sparlings’lights shine bright through
the night.
And while some traditions have
been continued by Sparling, others
have been adopted and adapted by
his children.
While Sparling would often run
around his house early on Christmas
morning banging things around in
the family’s kitchen in order to wake
the rest of the family, his own
children have taken a slightly subtler
approach.
Several years ago, Sparling and his
wife Laurie were awakened by
Christmas songs played by violin
only to see their children there
playing for them. Not only did their
morning start with music, and tears
of joy courtesy of Laurie, but the
children also went to the trouble of
making breakfast in bed for their
parents.
While breakfast in bed was a
special treat, every holiday since has
been accompanied by festive music
on violins on Christmas morning.There is, however, one traditionthat stands above the others in termsof importance to the family: TheMemory Tree.While the family often has several
Christmas trees around the house
during the holidays, a special tree is
designated as the memory tree. The
tree is left adorned with just lights
until the entire family is able to
decorate it together.
This year, with Jessica attending
school in the United States, she
asked specifically that the family
wait until she is back for the holidays
to decorate it. She said it was
something that she wouldn’t want to
miss.
The Memory Tree is decorated
with ornaments that have been made
by Jessica and Grant over the years at
school and with pictures andkeepsakes reminiscent of family tripsand important times in their lives.While the tree may not appear inany home design magazines, it holdsa special place in the hearts of the
Sparlings. The best part, Sparling
says, is decorating it. Every year
when the box is opened, a stroll
down memory lane like no other
begins, with stories being told and
vacations remembered throughout
the decorating process.
The decoration of the memory tree
is something that encapsulates the
approach the Sparlings began to take
to the holidays 20 years ago,
stripping away the commercial glitz
and frustration and focusing on the
family and togetherness that can
often be lost in today’s modern
Christmases.
Hanging memories
After the stripping down of Christmas over a decade ago,
the Sparlings have found extra time to spend with family
over the holidays. Awaiting the arrival of their daughter,
Jessica, from the United States, the family’s memory tree,
stands adorned with only lights. Steven, 2004’s Citizen of
the Year for Blyth and area, and his wife Laurie, look
forward to the tree’s decoration every year with homemade
ornaments and family keepsakes that make trimming the
tree a trip down memory lane every year. (Shawn Loughlin photo)
PAGE 28. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2009.Family strips Christmas back to the basics
With glad tidings to you and your kin
from all of us at this special season.
We thank you for choosing us and look forward to
serving you in the new year.
West Wawanosh
Mutual Insurance Company
• Residential • Farm • Commercial • Auto
email - wawains@wwmic.com
Dungannon 519-529-7921
www.wwmic.com
Season’s
Greetings
At this special time of year, please
accept my sincere wishes for a
holiday that's deeply satisfying
from start to finish. Your support
has meant so much to me.
Thanks, everyone!
9 Rattenbury St. E., Clinton,
ON N0M 1L0
Ph.: 519-482-9924
Res.: 519-524-9260
Carla, Julie, Ruth & Kelly
wish you a relaxed holiday season
and best wishes for the new year.
406 Mill St., Blyth ~ 519-523-4793
235 Turnberry St.,
Brussels
519-887-9661
Hwy.#8,
Mitchell
519-348-8485
We really appreciate
your filling our year
with so much joy.
Merry Christmas
everyone!
RADAR
AUTO PARTS
"You'll find it at CARQUEST"
20 King St.,
Clinton
519-482-3445
By Shawn Loughlin
The Citizen