[truh-dish-uhn]

I think I grew up a little bit this Thanksgiving Holiday. Just a little bit. I was still more excited to see Santa than Cohen and Kembry were.

Ever since our blessed nuptials, I've been bugging Brett about our traditions, about what I wanted to do with our own little family. Like Christmas Eve stories, and Thanksgiving at our house every third year (again, I've grown up a little, I realize how incredibly STUPID that ambition was). Of all my fantastical ideas for tradition, how many have I implemented? Um...zero. Poor kids.

This weekend as I watched the sisters (being Brett's mom Marilyn and his Aunt Sherri) go about their traditional ways, I realized that carrying on a tradition is a talent, a gift. Being able to bring together large groups of family members who do little to cooperate is not a simple task. I know. I'm one of the least cooperative.
Every year, on Black Friday, the Hyde Sisters begin the amazing, complicated, expensive, difficult, time consuming tradition of dipping chocolates. This is something I've taken for complete granted the past 6 years. I love dipping chocolates. I love making the centers. I love being with the whole family and listening to Christmas music and laughing and telling stupid, pointless stories and yelling at my children for eating more than their legal limit on sweets.
But the thought occurred to me and my sister-in-law that one day it will be up to us to continue this tradition. Me, who can't even bring herself to read a simple story to her kids on Christmas Eve. And I began being Thankful for a whole new reason.

I'm thankful for the traditions in our family. I'm thankful that Marilyn and Sherri have the incredible gift, talent, to bring us all together weekly. They hold us together like no glue on earth could. There's a natural force that seems to be dividing families, pushing them away from each other, and I understand a bit more about the incredible strength used to hold everyone together.
tra⋅di⋅tion:
The handing down of statements, beliefs, legends, customs, information etc., from generation to generation, esp. by word of mouth of by practice.