The Fluidity of Traditions

Happy Monday! I hope you’ve all had a wonderful holiday (assuming you celebrate)…or at least a great last week!

Things were a little crazy around here, hence the sound of crickets you may have heard where my blog was concerned…oops. 😉 I don’t know what it is about me and the Christmas season, but no matter how much I think I’ve cut back, I still seem to find myself doing a bazillion things. Is it like that for you, too, or am I just really bad at this holiday-organization thing? 😛

On the bright side, the bazillion things were mostly pleasant–at least once everyone recovered from the plague that hit the house and I had all the deep-cleaning done so that no one perished from dust allergies!

We had all our kids home this year, boyfriends/fiancés included, and it was fascinating to see how our traditions have shifted as the family has grown and changed. One daughter and her fiance spent the day visiting with his family and then came here for dinner. Another daughter and her boyfriend had their own Christmas at home before joining us for brunch and spending the rest of the day here. Our third daughter and my husband indulged in a long sleep-in while I enjoyed the quiet company of animals (and Bailey’s in my coffee!) beside the tree. Video games replaced board games, and gifts were exchanged before dinner instead of before breakfast. And you know something? It worked. It all worked.

As much as I’ve enjoyed the traditions we had built over the years of raising our children, I love that we can be fluid this way, expanding to absorb new loved ones and reshaping ourselves to include new ideas and perspectives.

If only the world at large could be so accommodating…yes?

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Comments

4 responses to “The Fluidity of Traditions”

  1. D. D. Syrdal Avatar

    Sure gets trickier when the families expand. Sounds like you had a lovely time, all around 🙂

    1. Linda Avatar
      Linda

      It truly does, D.D., and sometimes the letting go can be pretty tough…but it’s so worth it in the end. 🙂

  2. Debbie Soroczan Avatar
    Debbie Soroczan

    Funny, as flexibility and accomodation were dominant themes in this year’s celebrations for our family too. Questions about which cherished traditions were sacred, “family-only” ones, and which were traditions in which boyfriends could be included were the topics of much discussion. Our celebrations always include my parents and my sister’s family, so many members’ expectations, feelings, preferences, etc., from the oldest to the youngest, had to be listened to, validated, and accomodated as much as possible – a fairly complicated undertaking! In the end, compromises worked out, and erring on the side of inclusiveness felt best for all, I believe.

    Tonight, we are celebrating in the exact same way we have celebrated since I was ripely pregnant with Maddie 18 years ago: having a good meal and watching Moonstruck (yes, that will be 19th time now!) with the folks and the cousins, and boyfriends and friends are welcome too. We will ‘flow’ into the new year. 🙂

    Happy New Year to you and your family, Linda!

    1. Linda Avatar
      Linda

      How wonderful that you were able to sit down and discuss things, Debbie! We had more of a wing-it-and-see-what-happens approach, but we aren’t dealing with extended family, so it seems to be working for us. 😉 Happy New Year to you and yours, too! 🙂

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