Beep… beep… beep… beep used to be the sound I heard at 5:30 am during the holidays as I felt around my bedside table for the snooze button.

It wasn’t an alarm set so that I could hopefully catch Santa in the act, or to build toys, or make a fire, or get a few runs in before the in-laws arrived for presents and dinner… I had set this alarm so that I could go to WORK!

Yes work! Ughh… or so this has been my reality for the past 12 years of working in the ski resort business. Until NOW! I can feel the weight falling off my shoulders and the feeling of freedom fill the void as I erase my past schedule and look forward to the possibilities of what the holiday season can offer our newly remodeled family this year.

I can’t wait to see my son as an image of me 30 years ago, like when I’d eagerly await alongside my brother and sister at the top of the stairs for my father’s confirmation that Santa did in fact come the night before. Or the mad scramble of opening presents, followed by mom’s famous pancakes that were too big for the plates, or dad looking like he got 2 hours of sleep from reading assembly instructions all night, or roller hockey in the basement post-breakfast or building sledding ski hills through the trees and naming the runs, or lobster for dinner (wicked good idea I know, we’re from Maine,) or family neighborhood walks, or the smell of Oak burning slowly in the fireplace, and laughter.

Tradition in itself is a way to attempt set the stage for memories to be created time after time. In our experiences growing up, we stumbled upon many traditions when we committed to the tradition of “doing nothing.” The “no plan” plan has repeatedly produced in the department of delivering timeless traditions and memories in the McInnis household. With the eager anticipation of our son’s first holiday experience and whether our day involves early morning bluebird powder laps or family hikes or conversational couch surfing or sledding or making fires or famous morning breakfasts… I’m looking forward to doing everything encompassed in the simple phrase, “let’s do NOTHING today!”