I just unloaded the dishwasher from Easter Dinner. It’s the day after 18 people have squished in to my 10 people dining room and as I sit with my morning cup of coffee I’m chuckling to myself thinking of family traditions. Yesterday my Big Boy’s family came for dinner…I was the out-law looking in…they were all blood.
It cracked me up as I opened the refrigerator door and saw a completely full jar of green olives…note to self…Big Boy’s family does not like green olives..or black at that! And the bag of turkey white meat, I’m going to be eating quite a few sandwiches! (funny thing is, I wouldn’t be caught dead eating the dark meat that they all love) But that’s how I grew up…white meat lovers…family tradition. Orange jello salad…well, it must have been on the table more for decoration than anything…it’s headed for the trash. And as I’ve been in his family, I’ve learned you always have mashed potatoes with every holiday meal. Who would have thought it…I thought potato casserole was an option. Yesterday I saw how food is a family thing. It’s not just my Big Boy, it’s all of them…it’s what they learned.
I learned that you always have a fancy table (I kind of failed at that yesterday), you always have ham, and you absolutely must have cauliflower with cheese sauce! We go to church, we pray before the meal, and then we eat…until stuffed…that’s my Easter tradition.
And the bunny thing! I think my jaw dropped when the kids woke up and sauntered down to the kitchen. No “has the bunny come?” “where did he hide my basket?”…at my house as a little girl, and when my children were little…it was like Christmas…you jumped out of bed in anticipation of the bunny…and all adults were jolted out of bed to be a part of it. At my Big Boy’s house…that wasn’t the case. We spent a fun-filled afternoon with a big Easter egg hunt in the yard. At my house it was always naps in the afternoon, after the stuffed from Easter dinner part! Tradition, just not the same.
It all brings to mind the saying, “We live what we learn”. Isn’t it amazing that a life-time later, we still want the holiday traditions of our childhood? We still remember those times with such clarity. They still warm our hearts.
I know that with marriage comes the blending of two families or more…son-in-laws, daughter-in laws, in-laws, out-laws…so we change, although we fondly remember, we make new traditions. And that’s a good thing.
One thing for sure…thank goodness that deviled eggs are important to both families. Some traditions just have to be!
49andcounting 