Some people shudder at the word “traditional”. I am not sure when this word came to have negative connotations, because, whether we realize it or not, almost all families do have their own traditions.
But not all traditions are traditional. For example, in our house, supper on the day after Thanksgiving is chili. Why? Partly because none of us
like turkey. Mostly because it is easy to make early in the day, and we can put up the Christmas tree while it simmers itself to perfection in the cast iron pot. How does one possibly put up a Christmas tree without the knowledge that a nice bowl of chili awaits them at the end of their labors?
I recently did a photo session of a family tradition that was new to me. This is Clara.
What a charming smile!
Okay, this looks like a pretty tradional portrait, but the tradition here is not what you might think.
Clara is wearing a very special dress. Her paternal grandmother passed it down
to her. Apparently Noni and all of her sisters had worn this dress for their first
day of school. Now it has been passed down to Clara to wear for her first day of
Mother’s Morning Out — school in her mind.
Naturally, not every family can pass down a “first day of school” dress. What if
you have all boys? What if you have triplet girls? And certainly not every family
would like chili for the day after Thanksgiving. No, every family should develop their own traditions.
But you can’t force a tradition. You can’t just say, “I want to make a
tradition of doing thus and such.” Well, I suppose you can, but perhaps it is
those sorts of traditions that have given tradition such a bad
reputation.
Traditions have to develop naturally. They happen because you and your family
enjoy something so much that you decide to to it
again…and then again…until you can’t even imagine doing it any other way. It’s
not that you can’t do something different; you just don’t want to do it differently.
I think traditions are wonderful and comfortable. But traditions don’t have to be traditionally traditional. Perhaps your favorite tradition is to travel to a different destination every year for Christmas vacation.
Unfortunately, as I have mentioned, families rarely choose their
traditions, the traditions choose them. But whatever tradition chooses you, embrace it and enjoy it. You never know what warm, fuzzy memories they will create for you.
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