Thinking about our Family Traditions

I didn't feel like journaling today!

So instead I started thinking about this article at the Art of Manliness (which is such a wonderful blog for anybody; not just men).

What are our family traditions? I have never felt very good at creating these, but some have happened sort of from their own volition:

1. Prayers - we do say prayers together every night. It is just the Our Father, a listing of all our family and special intentions we ash God to bless, and then the prayer of St. Michael the Archangel. With the kids getting older though some nights we aren't all together. A couple of times we've forgotten but I'd say 98% of the time we say prayers together at night.

2. Saturday morning bagels. I've been getting bagels for Saturday mornings breakfast for at least a decade. "Is it bagel day?" Is a question that gets asked around here.

3. Going out to breakfast on Sundays. This has been happening in some way shape or form for a good part of our marriage.

4. Rick grilling on Sunday evenings. I'd say 70% of the time, Rick grills us something for dinner on Sunday nights.

5. At least one night of the week is pizza night. The actual night moves around because of our schedule but it is always there.

I just realized that a lot of this happened because I am not such a great cook. LOL!

6. First hug! The kids would always race to hug daddy first when he came home. They'd call first hug as they ran toward him. Now they are older and don't do this so much, but sometimes they will make reference to it.

7. We pretty much celebrate the holidays the same way every year. I won't go into all that detail right now but it is there in our lives.

8. Birthdays - the birthday person gets to choose what kind of cake they want and the dinner menu.

9. Nightly read alouds. This is waning too with the kids getting older, but right now Rick is reading Becky the latest Percy Jackson and he is also reading Of Mice and Men to Sean. So I might not be reading to them, but they are still getting read alouds!

10. Mass on Sundays. We make it every Sunday. Right now we are trying for the 10:00 a.m. consistently. For a few years it was the 8:15 when Hannah was in the choir. For a few years after that it was the 11:45 before everyone decided they really didn't care for the guitar music. Sometimes we go through periods where we tend to go to evening Masses at other parishes. But we always go! Sunday wouldn't be Sunday without Mass!

I think I'll ask the kids what traditions they can think of. I am sure there are little ones that I am forgetting.