Family Traditions

I'm currently reading The Happiness Project and I'm currently on the chapter discussing parenting and family life. One of the things the author mentions is the importance of traditions for children.

I look back on the holidays as a kid, and the anticipation, excitement and love that surrounded the holidays meant (and still means) a great deal to me. Watching Jenna recall specifics of Christmas from last year makes me ever so anxious to celebrate with her this year. We've purchased a Christmas dress for photos, for a visit to Santa and for Christmas day and she asks to see it nightly. She knows she can't wear it, but her excitement is palpable.

Her recall amazes me. We don't attend church all that frequently (or really at all). My niece, Annika was baptized this past weekend and when we told Jenna we were getting her dressed up to go to church she said "Oh! Church! Mommy, can I see the water? The water at church?" She was SO excited! And, mind you, the last time we went to church was when she was baptized at 11 months old. Where they poured water over her head. It's a little scary to know she is able to recall memories from what I feel like was so long ago.

But this brings me back to traditions... I love the holidays. Jenna does, too. It's the middle of November, and she's still talking about the witches, skeletons, ghosts and pumpkins from Halloween. I am currently talking up Thanksgiving, telling her the family gets together (we'll have the WHOLE family together this year! All grandparents, aunt & both uncles and her cousin together under one roof!) and we eat turkey. She knows turkeys gobble-gobble.

I'm also anxious to celebrate Christmas. She knows where the decorations are in the garage, knows that Santa wears a red suit. When you would ask her what she was going to ask Santa for when she sits on his lap she used to say 'A red present'. Now, when you ask her what she's going to say to Santa she says "Santa, I've been a good girl all year. May I please have a bicycle?" (we were going for tricycle, but she knows what a bicycle is because of Daddy's in the garage, I think a tricycle is foreign to her).

Anyway, the point of this rambling post at 4:00 am is that I'm excited. I'm so happy to be formulating predictable celebratory events for Jenna, for Nick and for our upcoming addition. I'm enjoying establishing 'O family traditions'. I think I enjoy them almost as much as Jenna. The addition of children to our lives has made the holidays so much more loving, caring and enthusiastic.