Do I throw the baby out with the bath water?

There are traditions and activities that my family misses--traditions that were established during our time with our former church and the Rojas family. I am trying to figure out a way in which I am able to do some of those traditions or activities without feeling sick to my stomach. I want to throw it all out the window.

We were connected with this congregation for five-plus years. My older children were around six and eight years old when we started attending that church. We also had a two-year-old and a newborn. I then went on to have two more children while still attending this church.

With that said, a lot of family traditions were established during this time. Our family was continuing to grow and change. Many memories are intertwined with the Rojas family itself and other members of the congregation that we really don't fellowship with anymore. Church itself has such a negative connotation because of our story.

I start having a harder time around the end of October, as we enter all the traditions of the holiday season. How do I reflect and remember my family's life and traditions and separate out the individuals associated with the memories? This is so hard! I don't want to throw the baby out with the bath water....