Anchors in the past

I am a sucker for good lyrics. A few years ago, I had the privilege of meeting a singer/songwriter by the name of Travis Meadows. This guy is good. He has a song called Pontiac that hits me hard every time – it’s about the memories and the past, about holding onto some of what you had even as you’re moving forward:

Hold on to some innocence
Through the almosts and the could have beens
Put an anchor in somethin’ that’ll bring you back
I hope you keep the Pontiac

I wish I’d heard this song before I sold the Jeep Wrangler that took me through high school, college, my first date with my wife, my first job, countless road trips… but enough about me.

I was thinking about anchors in the past the other night as we watched Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmas with our daughter, Kennedy. She is three, and this movie is great. It just gives you the Christmas feels. Kennedy puts a little “ornament” up on our advent calendar every morning. Our Christmas tree is up, decorations fill the house (thanks to my wife). Goodnight Moon has temporarily been replaced by a collection of kids Christmas books for bedtime. We take this Christmas stuff seriously, and I think for me it’s about anchors.

There will be a day when Kennedy is 40, coming to our house for Christmas. I want her to remember the tree, the Disney movies we are playing for her kids, the decorations, the advent calendar.

I plan to keep moving forward, but I’m putting a stake in this year and in each year to come that my family can always come back to.