I have been off on dates lately. I believe it is only the 17th? I could blame it on the time warp caused by surgery, but I am not absolutely positive that is it. Anyway, here is the prompt I responded to today for the Autumn Blog Challenge.
October 18 - Write about a childhood family tradition.
I longed for family when I was a little girl.
You may find that odd since I spent my life surrounded by four brothers and a sister. My longing for family was what I wished for with all my being. My heart ached for my extended family. I wished I had connections close by to share holidays and important events with on a regular basis.
We had one set of cousins who were an air force family, so they lived somewhat close to us on a regular basis. We visited them in Dover, Delaware; Someplace in Connecticut near the prep school called Choate where my cousin attended; we visited them when they lived outside Washington, DC.
It wasn’t the same, though, as the close knit families in
New Jersey who had family a
couple streets over or perhaps in the next town or
the most distant, three counties away. I didn’t know any other child whose
family lived three time zones away.
We had a couple traditions: Christmas Morning, no going downstairs until 7 am and when we did go downstairs, there was a momentous very long time when Daddy went to light the Christmas tree before all six of us would race down the wooden stairs and trample anything in between us and our stack of gifts.
We had a tradition of visiting my next door neighbors on Christmas Eve.
We had a tradition of always eating Thanksgiving alone, without any other family members. I didn’t like this tradition yet have inadvertently continued this tradition with my children perhaps because my other siblings didn’t mind it as much as I minded it.
In my family now we have countless traditions and rituals.
Samuel, my eleven-year-old is like many other children who are on the spectrum. He has turned almost everything we do into a ritual or tradition. Last night I think I hit paydirt when I asked him to take his bag into the house. And he did. And then he repeated it later.
I had forgotten to cue him to the next upcoming tradition.
We celebrate my daughter’s Christmas birthday in the Afternoon/Evening of Christmas Day.
My children traditionally bring me breakfast in bed on
Mother’s Day.
We also have an apple picking tradition and a make-ghosts-out-of-white-trash-bag tradition which we are going to complete this weekend.
Traditions help bring families together usually with laughter, joy and hope.
I am grateful I have given my children these gifts and hope to continue for a long time to come.
Facebook (THANK YOU!)© 2012 by Julie Jordan Scott
Julie Jordan Scott has been a Life & Creativity Coach, Writer, Facilitator and Teleclass Leader since 1999. She is also an award winning Actor, Director, Artist and Mother Extraordinaire. She was twice the StoryTelling Slam champion in Bakersfield. She leads Writing Camp with JJS & this Summer will be traveling throughout the US to bring this unique, fun filled creative experience to the people wherever she finds the passion & the interest.
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