We have written some here in the Parenting blog about family traditions—changing them, establishing them, letting some of them go. As a parent who has seen my children grow from infancy to nearly adult-hood, I am finding it interesting that some of the family and holiday traditions I said goodbye to a couple of years ago when my kids were in the throes of adolescence, have started to return…
My eldest daughter and I were chatting this morning on our post-dawn commute—making some plans for the weekend. It was actually a combination of finding out what her social plans were, my work plans for the long weekend, and making arrangements for things to do together. We both commented on the fact that it had been a couple years since we planned to do some of the “old traditions” together. Like typical teenagers, we have been through a draught when my children have NOT wanted to do much in public with their old mother—but we are entering a time of reclaiming some of our shared activities.
Who would have known? I honestly thought that our shared trips to the ballet and the Festival of Trees were memories buried in the past. I had adjusted to the changing tide and accepted that my children were gradually moving out into the world as their own individuals and that meant the need to sever some of their ties with mother. So, I find that while all of that is still true, now that they are making those independent stretches, there is room again for some of our old traditions too. I am sure that we will continue to morph and change as years pass and circumstances change, but it has come as such a pleasant surprise to me to experience some continuance and the return of what I thought were lost traditions.
Also: Creating New Holiday Traditions
Family Traditions and Christmas Eve
The Importance of Family Traditions