Question Nine

I meant to answer question nine last week, but I didn't. I can't remember why at the moment, but I suspect it had to do with exhaustion and a lack of mental alacrity. And so, I will answer question nine during week ten.

What were some of the family traditions that you remember?  Did your family have special ways of celebrating specific holidays?

The major tradition that stands out in my head is Christmas caroling. I have no idea how many times we actually went and stood on the doorsteps of our Primary teachers and Bishopric members, but the memory is so happy that I don't think it matters how frequent it was. We would bring treats of some kind, and we would sing in the car as we drove from house to house, making sure we all sang the same song at the same time. At least once we were invited in for sugary goodies. I've gotten my little family to go caroling a handful of times because I loved going as a child.

On Christmas morning, before any gifts could be opened, we would read the account of the Savior's birth in Luke 2. As kids we loved the presents, but the scriptures helped keep our focus on what was truly important.

Visiting my Grandma Bonnie for General Conference was another tradition. She had a satellite dish, one of those gigantic kinds that look like they're strong enough to communicate with alien life. She would point it toward Utah (or so I assumed as a child) and we would sit in her living room to watch instead of driving to the Stake Center. Someday I'll tell my children this story and they'll marvel that I was a child back in the dark ages before we could watch Conference on our computers and phones and wristwatches.

At the beginning of Thanksgiving dinner we would all say what we were thankful for. I took this for granted and thought that everyone did it. However, when I went to college and ate Thanksgiving with other families, I discovered that was not the case. I like focusing on gratitude. This is another tradition I've carried over into my family.

For the Fourth of July each year we would drag our kitchen chairs out to the edge of our backyard. From our perch near the fence we could see two, and sometimes three, fireworks shows. Once, as a teenager, I went to the beach with friends and watched the big fireworks show out over the Pacific. That was awesome, but I kind of missed sitting with my family while we sang patriotic songs in the dark of our backyard and gazed at the faraway flashes of light and color.

An unspoken tradition was going to church. I know, that doesn't seem like a tradition, does it? But we went every Sunday, barring illness and General Conference. I think attending church as a family is the most consistent thing we did, with family prayer coming in a close second. Now as an adult, the Sabbath is not complete without my church meetings.