Tradition-Smradition…
The much-esteemed label of “Army-Brat” was stamped onto my forehead, some 34 years ago, following my birth in Landstuhl Germany. In the 14 years, following that cold January morning, the military moved our little family of three a total of 7 times. We were never stationed anywhere close to our extended family and chose to cling to what we knew. Each other. You would think that the idea of “traditions” would be something we coveted… a way to retain a connection to something that was once known and familiar. You would think wrong, though.
The traditions that we did abide by seemed simple enough… Chucky Cheese for good report cards, at least 1 fucked up pie during the holidays and a luke-warm orange in the toe of your Christmas stocking. While I may not have known which state or country we would soon be living in… every year I knew I could count on those 3 things to happen. They were my constants.
…and then something happened
Time passed, my parents aged and I became an adult.
…an adult with a small gaggle of children.
…an adult with ADD/OCD/and a shit load of other initials attempting to define me
…an adult that honestly didn’t and couldn’t give a damn about “tradition”
Report cards are rewarded with praise and non-groundings. An occasional monetary offering may come to light (if I happen to find a few stray dollars hiding at the bottom of my purse). For a vast multitude of reasons that are still un-known to me, I couldn’t fuck up a pie if I tried… It’s a blessing and a curse. I could burn the crust and use generic applesauce as the filling…and it would still taste delightful. I don’t question it… I just go with it. If I need a lemon meringue pie…. where the actual meringue is sitting halfway on the table, next to the pie, I will call my mother. Luke warm oranges for Christmas morning…. Yeah, like I could EVER remember to buy oranges when they’re actually NEEDED. ha… ha… HA!
I’ll admit, there are fleeting moments when I feel kind of bad that traditions are not really something we honor in our house… When I see all my friends posting pictures from their yearly journey to the pumpkin patch, it stings a little… that I forgot…. again. But then a vision flutters through my head. A vision of me chucking a dining room chair at a tantrum-ing child who is upset that they failed to get their yearly orange in the toe of their stocking… and I have to smile.
‘Cause that shit SO ain’t gonna happen.
Lol funny, I dont think traditions are so much needed anyway.
Cricket recently posted..Blogger Idol Week 1 from home
I’m pretty sure we’ll manage to survive without them… I hope!!!
i’m with you… no traditions means no disappointments! yay, us! great post!
50 sense recently posted..tradition… i do not think it means what we think it means
No disappointments… all surprises! WIN!
I was reading, and I felt all warm and fuzzy, and then all of a sudden, I was like “What? No traditions? HOW??!!” And I kept reading, and then I saw the light. That is awesome, and a very smart move on your part! And the post was very well written. Hope to see you for the Week 2 Play-at-Home!
Heather Reese recently posted..Win a Custom Made-to-Order Corset!
I’m all about making my life easier… for me
kimberliah recently posted..It’s a Family Tradition…
You DO have a tradition in your house. It’s NOT starting any new traditions. Keep going Kim, you’re doing great!
Hugs,
Teri
Teri recently posted..Holiday Traditions
This isn’t a particularly insightful comment, but I totally loved this post.
Meredith recently posted..Pets are not philanthropists
I certainly learned about you with this post. Kudos on your great take on the prompt and I hope you continue to play along!
@MryJhnsn from iNeedaPlaydate recently posted..Week One of @BloggerIdol Plus a Play at Home Version