Create Traditions:
Traditions are established acts generally shared with family or friends. They can happen once in a lifetime (for example making a wedding quilt),
My grandmother on my dad’s side made us grandchildren each a quilt for our bed. Decades later, I still have my quilt. My grandmother on my mother’s side quilted a satin baby quilt for me when I was a baby. I kept it and used it for my own daughter. This tradition of making quilts for posterity is one I have continued and have made quilts for my children and other family members.
or even daily, (like reading together).
Reading to my children to bed is a tradition that I started when they were just babies and continue even in their teens. Taking that time to read together regularly creates opportunities to connect and talk.
Traditions can endure in our lives and memories and they may be passed down to future generations.
Positive traditions provide:
- Something to look forward to
- Holidays are perfect examples of this. As soon as one holiday is over, there is another holiday to look forward to.
- Structure and predictability
- This is an example that has stuck with me for many years. When my daughter was about 5 or 6, she took a dance class. One dance class, the girls were all out on the floor doing ballet when a mother whooshed in late with her two daughters. She hurriedly put on their ballet shoes and sent them out to join the other girls. Then this mother turned to us mothers sitting on the other side of the glass watching our daughters dance. She said, “sorry if we smell like smoke, our house burned down last night.” There was a collective gasp and offers support and concern. The big thought on everyone’s mind was, “and you are here today?” It would certainly be understandable to miss a dance class the day after your house burned down. She said, “no, what the girls need most is a sense of structure. They need their familiar routine, it helps them cope better.”
- Reminders of happy times
- Traditions of camping as a family or going on vacations together friends or family are examples of traditions that build memories.
Holidays and milestones such as birthdays, graduation, reaching a certain age, or reaching a goal are opportunities to create traditions.
The tradition of working together strengthens relationship ties.
When our kids were growing up, some weekends when we had a certain project to complete, we would have a “work hard, play hard” day. We would all work together on the project, then at the end of the day go do something fun like eating out and going to a movie.
Journals and scrapbooks can be passed on for generations.
The Success Choice Planner and Choosing Joy in the Journey Journals are great places to record your noteworthy events, thoughts, and memories that you can refer back to yourself or pass on to future generations.
Take advantage of the opportunity to share a positive tradition today.