A Letter to our Readers

Dear reader,

In honor of Thanksgiving and the holiday season, that warms our hearts, brings us together and opens our eyes to love and gratitude, we wish to share our love by expressing the things we’re grateful for.

First off, thank you for being a part of our lives. We cherish the videos we see on social media. The ones where your children giggle with their siblings and friends as they have the time of their lives sliding down your stairs; the ones where we laugh when we see grandmas and grandpas getting down with their grandkids as they join in the fun; the photos where we can’t help but smile when you gather around your living rooms while your kids try to escape to get that one last slide in.

This is to say, the photos and videos we see of you give us an extra appreciation for the wonderful customers and friends we have made through StairSlide. So, thank you! We are grateful for your support and love.

We’re also grateful for the joy we get to cherish with our loved ones. As we laugh together, enjoy delicious food together, lift each other up in service and decorate our homes with festive ornaments and lights together, our hearts are reminded of the extra peace and tenderness we feel this time of year.

The red ribbons, toy trains and boxes wrapped in plaid paper bring us happiness, but so easily that happiness is fleeting and forgotten once the tree is taken down, lights are de-strung, presents are opened, and January 1st comes around once more.

Yes, these memories are fun and nostalgic for many, but part of this time that feels most sacred presents itself in a sweet kiss under the mistletoe, a daughters smile when she snuggles with her mom in front of the fire place, a family singing sweet sounds of Christmas hymns around the piano and spending the afternoon making sugar cookies for the widow down the street, or going shopping for the family who can’t afford that bike their son is hoping for Christmas Day.

People. Moments. The little things that get set aside. That is joy. That is lasting happiness, and that is what life is about, not only during Thanksgiving and Christmas, but the entire year. This is our goal: paying attention to the moments that will stay with us for years to come even when our skin goes wrinkly and our bodies fail us.

Imagine years into the future, you’re sitting on your porch or favorite chair reflecting on life. Your eyes gently close, and a clear slide show of some of the most precious moments in your life flood back to you like images crystalized in time, memories protected in amber, untampered by age. You remember crawling out of bed as your tiny feet took you to the window, where you knelt in excitement and pressed your button nose against the cold window to witness the first white blanket of snow fall.

The quiet creek of the rocking chair fades into the distance, as the sweet and familiar sound of your kid’s high-pitched laughter echoes in your ear, while the memory of your children throwing pillows and pulling you desperately out of bed on Christmas morning comes to your attention; as you sit they’re comfortably in your favorite chair, you sort through the beautiful memories you’ve collected, and the corners of your mouth effortlessly creep up towards your cheeks.

This year, join StairSlide as we live our lives in a way that is focused on people and the little tender moments that we’ll remember on that day, far into the future, when we close our eyes and sit in our favorite chair.

It won’t be the fancy cars and glamorous gifts we received that we’ll want to remember. It will be the memories of our kids, our childlike wonder, the way people loved us and the way we loved others that will flood back to us like crystalized imagines frozen in time. And, oh, what a grateful day that will be.

Let us all practice living life this way now, so that one day we can feel the joy of looking back at our lives as we say we live for the important stuff. This season let’s start creating the habit of being present with something as simple as holding our child’s hand or stopping to say hi to our neighbor instead of moving through life too swiftly that we miss out on the moments that fill our lives with priceless riches. 

Happy holidays,

StairSlide