E.O. Writes

Yesterday was kind of like a full circle, bittersweet time for me.
I got to take my children to walk through a Philly holiday tradition that's been around since 1956.
When I was little, my grandmother used to take my two cousins and I to The Wanamaker Building for the Macy's the light show. We laid on the floor on top of jackets and watched it, not wanting to leave until Mommom had watched it enough times it gave her a headache.
I didn't take a walk through the Dicken's Villiage until I was in high-school.
When we were 16, my husband and I (and a few friends) walked to Macy's after school and did the walk-through. It was our first "date".
Even then, in 2011, the set and animatronics were still the originals, upkept and well loved. We made the Dicken's Villiage a part of all our Anniversary Dates from then on- he bought my engagement ring after "losing" a bet in the Macy's on our way out in 2015; we went the day before our Courthouse Wedding in 2016.
Finally, (a military move to Cali and back, with a toddler and baby on the way) we were able to make it back and take the children, who are old enough to understand and appreciate it a bit better than they would have before.
We told them about the first time we went there, I heard them excitedly point out characters they remembered from the few movie versions they've watched recently, I watched their joy and awe at the light show afterwards with shiny eyes.
They told me how much fun they had walking through A Christmas Carol and that the light show was so pretty and how they want to go back again as we were walking out. My husband and I shared a look and then glanced around us. The Macy's is no longer home to the Wanamaker Building- there is no evidence on the floors or walls that any department stores used to exist in the space, and walking through it to exit was erie.
The light show and Villiage are in danger, but they are trying to preserve it! I made a $5 donation before I left yesterday, and you can make one too online!
I hope so much that I can make a new tradition with my children for years to come and keep these Philly Holiday Season staples alive❤️❄️