You know that Dickens inspired saying, "We should celebrate Christmas in our hearts all year long"? I've been thinking a little along those lines. Holiday traditions add meaning to our celebrations, unite friends and family, and inspire lasting memories. Why do we limit traditions to a select few special occasions? Why not bring traditions, with all their memory-making power, to our everyday?
I know that none of us have a lot of extra time in our daily schedules to work in elaborate, or time-consuming traditions. It's ridiculous to think of trying to carve pumpkins, or decorate gingerbread houses every Tuesday night. These traditions are great, but there's a reason we limit them to once a year...they're a lot of work!
The beauty of a daily tradition is, the simpler the better! The point is to find daily ways to show love, make memories, and connect with our families, not to spend a lot of time, energy, or money. (None of which I usually have a lot of. 😊)
It's easier than you think! Here are a few of the happy, extremely simple, ways I've found to work tradition into my family's everyday.
Cereal??
If you know me at all, you know I have a thing for cereal. Maybe this love took root as a kid, fishing free prizes of plastic spoons with Tony the Tiger handles, or secret decoder rings, out of the boxes before my brothers found them. I know this love grew as a busy college student, surviving off a steady diet of this super quick and easy meal. I've always loved cereal. Movies are more fun with a bowl of cereal. What is the perfect post-workout food, comfort food, and bedtime snack...cereal, of course.
Some of my kids have found a similar appreciation for cereal.
A few days ago I was talking with my oldest daughter, away at college. She was feeling a little overwhelmed with classes, and her busy schedule, and the number of days on the calendar before Christmas break. It's tough to comfort your kid from 2,000 miles away! So, I thought of something familiar, something that connects us, and might make home seem a little less far away for her. As silly as it sounds, that day, cereal was the answer.
We both broke out bowls and spoons, and Special K, and ate a few bites together over Skype. It was simple, kind of ridiculous, and exactly what she needed. Tradition is powerful stuff!
Family Room Yoga
Sometimes as our kids get older and their interests change, it can be a little tricky to find ways to connect. I remember freaking out a little when suddenly One Direction and iPhones were way cooler than playing at the park and Cyberchase. I wasn't sure how to stay close and connected with teenagers?! I had never raised one of those before!
Then one day we discovered free workout videos that came with our cable TV On Demand. I don't remember how it started exactly. Maybe I tried a Yoga video, and my girls were curious and joined in. Pretty soon we found our favorite workouts, and new one's to try. We started motivating each other to exercise more, and looking forward to those Saturdays, or summer mornings, working out together. There was a lot of laughing at how much less cool we looked attempting humble warrior, than the instructor, and at how noisy our cracking knees were every time we attempted a squat or a lunge. Our favorite part of every workout was by far the totally necessary post-workout snack.
This tradition started 5 or 6 years ago, and still, whenever the three of us are all at home together, one of us will inevitably say, "We should do a workout!"
Pass it Down
Most of us have a favorite Christmas tradition or two that we loved as a kid, and have passed down to our own families. What about the smaller, meaningful, daily, memories you might have from childhood? When you share simple, significant, experiences from your childhood, you can connect generations, and pass on an an appreciation for things that were important to you as a kid.
It's so interesting to me, looking back, that it was the small and simple things that meant the most. Why do I attempt to can peaches and tomatoes, even though I am secretly terrified that I will give my whole family botulism? It's an attempt to recreate for my kids, those happy memories of that syrupy sweet, heavy, smell of peaches filling the house, and the bright, sunny, mason jars lining the shelves afterwards.
Why does my husband give up a night of peaceful sleep in his own bed, and instead lug sleeping bags and pillows out to the trampoline, and spend the night with bouncy, excited, talkative kids? First, it's because he is a way better sport than I am, and second, because I've told my kids of my happy memories of my dad giving into our incessant begging, and agreeing to sleep on the trampoline with us, so we could point out all the constellations we knew, and fall asleep to the sounds of our neighbors sprinkler and crickets.
Why wait until Christmas? Break out some everyday traditions now! I'll bet that you probably already have a few sweet, daily traditions that you didn't even realize you had. Maybe reading to your kids at night before bed, or a hug and an encouraging word before the kids head off to school, or brownies every Sunday. It doesn't take much! Look for simple ways that you can show love and connect with your family every day.
Today's a new day; let's make it purposeful!
Kara
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