A Little Bit Of Always

Less than a quarter of the alphabet remains in our month long A-Z Blog Challenge, so whoohoo! Staying true to my theme of The Things We Keep: Ordinary Objects from A-Z with today's letter. Here we go-

Day 20-T is for Tradition

Remember the early days of blogging and how everyone posted Thursday Thirteen lists full of all kinds of things? Well I'm bringing it back today and we're talking tradition. 

I think by definition traditions are things we keep. Or things we want to keep. Raise your hand if your kids are grown and flown or growing and flowing and you're struggling to hold on to some of your favorite traditions. Or maybe struggling to let them go rings more true? 

My girls are grown with families of their own now, and are intentional about creating special markers and memories with their children. But take heart mommas because I see them also trying to keep hold of some of the traditions they grew up enjoying and expecting, and there's something so comforting in that. 

As I was trying to come up with a list of thirteen traditions our family holds on to I realized most are associated with holidays, Christmas especially, and isn't that part of why we look forward to the season? Traditions call us home. 

I've included a few random traditions we hold dear in our house, but of course every family has their own.  For the sake of brevity (ha!) here are thirteen of ours-

1. When you're asked what time it is the correct answer is 'IT'S FOOTBALL TIME IN TENNESSEE-GO BIG ORANGE!!  Yes. It must be shouted. 

2. Your picture is taken on the front porch on the first day of school every year. 

3. We will be watching Home Alone on Thanksgiving night. 

4. New jammies will be opened on Christmas Eve.

5. A photograph in said jammies will be snapped on the stairs Christmas morning before anyone is allowed to see if Santa came. 

You will never be too old. 

6. There will be dozens of cookies baked from recipes handed down from my momma and grandma every December. 

7. You'll find a tangerine or clementine in the bottom of your Christmas stocking. 

8. Holiday breakfasts mean a breakfast casserole will be served. 

9.  There will be an ugly egg every Easter, usually crafted by the hubs. It's made by dunking an egg into every dye available, some cups more than once, until the egg is so ugly it's almost pretty. Almost.

10. You'll have new clothes for Easter, but hubs will forever and ever wear the same spring tie he has worn every Easter Sunday for going on 40 years now. He's had this tie so long we cannot remember if he purchased it in Knoxville or Richmond. He dared ask if he should wear something different this year. What??? Absolutely not! 

11. When the song Summertime's Callin' Me is played you have to move your arm like a wave in time with the music. If you're in a car you need to put your arm out the window in order to do the wave correctly 'I wanna sit there in the sand, and watch those golden tans go walkin byyyyyyyyy..' 

12. On the first day of a brand new year a lucky dinner will be served that will include pork, cornbread, greens, and black eyed peas. 

13. There's gonna be a six foot banner on the front door on your birthday.  

I asked my girls to weigh in and one thing daughter2 mentioned was we always watched the fireworks from the Naval Academy sea wall and brought Boston Market chicken with us as a picnic dinner. 

You might have to let some of your traditions go, but know your kids remember them too.