Happy New Year!
The weeks leading up to and including the recent holidays tend to dredge up family traditions that, like opening a box of tree ornaments, causes me to pause and reevaluate each one. Some traditions feel imposed and of those, a few feel uncomfortably imposed. Others seem more "optional" but tend to happen almost every year anyway. As our own family unit, we know its important to plan our activities based on more than just our own gut feelings. Sometimes, you have to hang that ugly, little ornament on the front of the tree because doing so will make someone's day, and that makes it completely worth it.
In the spirit of traditions, I bring you three comparisons of events that transpired two weeks ago as well as those of a year and two weeks ago. The traditions shown are not the "we do this because we've always done this" kind, but more of the "we do this every year because we want to" variety.
Christmas Morning '08:
Christmas Morning '09:
Bon Fire '08:
Bon Fire '09:
Cousins '08:
Cousins '09:
Blogging, not unlike writing in a diary, has proven to be a great way to look back and compare, to notice little changes in the way people look, and to admire how long a little tradition has "hung on" over the years, for better or worse. I think it will be fun to do this sort of thing again next year and for as many years after as this is possible to foster a little nostalgia or something like it anyway. Chalk up another little "tradition."
