Traditions Are Important

     These are the words my cousin Connie said when my sister expressed her desire to learn my mom's zucchini appetizer recipe.

     "Traditions are important."
   
      As I encounter each new experience, I come to know that this is true more and more. With every breath, we inhale and we exhale. With each new experience, we take in something new. We adapt a little more, whether we want to or not. But some of our core being stays with us no matter what minor changes we incorporate into our daily lives. This core being is our traditions.

      With each new morning, we rise and redefine ourselves. There is a brief moment before our awareness fully crests that each of us asks who we are and what we are doing. We answer each day by how we live. We answer by subtly, and often subconsciously, choosing which traditions to carry with us into each new day.

      Today I heard the story of my uncle being born into the Great Depression. I heard the tale of how his aunt bought his mom the rocking chair he is sitting in now because she would need to be able to rock her baby to sleep. I see his name on the rocking horse next to him and recognize it also under the smiling faces of his grandchildren. As I listen to stories from my cousin, I appreciate how she has cared for loved ones I've never met before. And as I begin stories of my own I am grateful to be able to share them. As my uncle points out his five children and their countless grandchildren, he jokingly explains this is what happens when you get married. Beneath the jocularity, however, I appreciate how many lives are touched by this couple, their children,  and their children's children. I appreciate not only being able to witness this firsthand, but also being able to share our family's experience with them as well. And as I realize we are all family, I begin to grasp how far the lessons we teach each other truly extend.

     Traditions are more than important.

     Traditions define who we are.

#boothabroad #almosthome