perspective from the perpetual student

I went tree shopping last weekend with my grandchildren and it brought back so many memories of tree shopping with my boys when they were small. My oldest granddaughter took our mission with all of the seriousness only a 4 year old can manage. My son, who was just as motivated at her age was now less fussy about the tree, he just wanted to get the chore over with and get in out of the cold. But as I well know time and a 4 year old cannot be rushed. We went to 3 different tree lots looking for the "perfect" tree-my granddaughters requirement, not mine-I'm not sure what she was looking for in the perfect tree, but we finally found it in a tree that was easily 3 times her height and probably four times her weight. We dragged it home and then unwrapped the ornaments. Hanging ornaments with a two year old and a four year old can be a little nerve wracking. My daughter-in-law and I put the breakable ones up high and let the girls hang the less fragile ones on the lower branches. I could tell the 6 month old, my grandson had his eye on the low branches wondering if he could reach them from his walker! It turns out that he can. Thankfully, I had made a few that were colorful and soft that he could pull off the tree and play with-something I had done for my own kids when they were little. It's wonderful to pass down the traditions to the next generation. This weekend, or maybe next we will be baking cookies, another tradition I love to share. I still remember when my kids were small and I would bake all of their favorites. The day I started the baking they would run home from the school bus looking forward to digging in. Their friends used to start asking about the second week of December if I had started baking yet, and often there would be several more kids coming home with them. The first 2 or 3 dozen cookies barely made it into the cookie jar.
I know my blog this time doesn't have much to do with college, but it is the holiday season and almost time for Christmas break, so I am straying off topic a bit.
Besides college is another important tradition. If your children and grandchildren see you attending college and doing homework and you let them know how important it is-maybe you can pass on that tradition as well.