the value of traditions...and why you need a few!

tra·di·tion | trəˈdiSH(ə)n/
“A belief or behavior passed down within a group or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past."

​Think back to your favorite family tradition—was it a holiday or an unusual bedtime ritual? A famous recipe passed down from your grandmother or maybe even a quirky annual family event? Traditions, good or bad, are what bind people together, make them unique and most importantly, create lasting memories and shared experience that will always be remembered.

When my husband and I were newly married, we often reminisced about each of our family traditions. We talked about how important it would be to include some of our past traditions while incorporating new rituals that would be distinctive to our family structure.

We came up with these and we think they’re kind of awesome—says us!
Our Family Traditions:

• We head north to Lake George to celebrate our youngest daughter’s birthday each
  Independence Day long weekend,
• We celebrate our oldest daughter’s birthday with her twin cousins who were born 10 years,
  less two days, earlier,
• Andrew bakes me a birthday cake from scratch each year and I do the same for him. Mine is always chocolate-chocolate and his is always bizarre vanilla-chocolate.
• We eat brunch on Sunday at the same local bakery,
• I try to consistently take one of our girls out for breakfast each Wednesday,
• We allow the girls a single gift to open on Christmas Eve—it's usually from Grandma!
• If a giant cardboard box arrives at our house (or at our neighbors)—it’s full-on construction time. We dream up the craziest creations! Some are successes, others...not so much! :(
• The girls have a 'Movie Night' every Friday evening. It's their choice (G-rated only of course) and 'NO PARENTS' allowed. Secretly, it's just as much fun for the parents! My husband and I order sushi and have a night in too! P.S. the girls go to bed at 6pm which--at the end of any long week--is a little 'I'm exhausted from parenting' treat!
• My husband and the girls carve out a space for a garden each year and spend a significant amount of time plotting what vegetables will be grown,
• My husband and my eldest collect cans and return them each grocery shop. The money from these returns heads straight to her 'froggie' bank.
• My husband has secret handshakes with each of the girls. I’m not allowed to do them and each girl makes it known that their handshake is uniquely hers.
• And so our traditions continue…

I believe the benefits of traditions are far reaching. Our traditions give us a sense of shared identity and belonging to one another--our family. They help to organize our days and weeks and give our girls’ a sense of structure. They impart our family values and beliefs in a fun and consistent way. They provide a sense of security and help teach us practical skills and problem solving as a family unit. I hope they will act as a sense of comfort in the future when the girls’ begin to deal with loss or trauma but more importantly, they generate the most wonderful memories that I hope our girls' will hold dear and continue to pass on to their children.

“Families are mini-cultures and they share language, attitudes, and behavior in common.
These tend to be acted out in each generation and passed along. “
                                                                                                       ~Dr. Carolyn Foster, Pediatrics, Seattle Children’s Hospital

What are some of your family traditions?
And, if you haven’t given them much though, maybe you should—trust me, they are priceless!