Traditions, Old and New

So far I haven't had a chance to post on my own blog yet, but after a few nudges from my dear wife, I decided I had better post something. After pondering my life and daily activities for a while in search of a good topic, I finally stumbled upon something that I thought might be interesting. I hope that readers will agree. . .

Traditions have always been interesting to me. My sometimes-cynical brain has often questioned the reasoning behind many traditions, and even the sanity of abiding by them. My sometimes-sentimental self has clung dearly to other traditions, with or without explanation. I suppose I can be pretty hypocritical sometimes. I honestly do think that as a general rule a person should evaluate any tradition he may adhere to, rather than blindly following in the footsteps of others who may themselves be blind. Some traditions may be fairly neutral, neither helpful nor hurtful, and others may be quite foolish, or even detrimental in some way. Some traditions, however, can quite safely be called "good, right, and salutary." I don't think any tradition should be followed or abandoned on the basis of its status as a tradition. A tradition's worth should be determined by its benefits.

Liturgical traditions are something of a hot topic among many of my friends and acquaintances these days. I have my own developing opinions on such things, but I don't actually mean to address them in this post. I apologize to anyone I might have just disappointed ;-P. What I want to talk about is actually quite a bit less lofty, but still both important and interesting to me. What I have in mind are the many traditions that have been a part of my day-to-day life at home, especially since I married Rebekah and established my own household.

It is a little bit daunting, at times, to think about the responsibilities that I have as the head of a household of two, as opposed to simply looking out for my own basic needs. Thanks be to God that I don't tackle this task alone, but do so with the help of God, especially present in the wonderful helper he has provided me with :-D! When it isn't overwhelming and scary (which is really only on occasion), it can actually be quite fun! While I cannot begin to express my gratitude to my own family for providing me with a home throughout my childhood, it is a really cool thing to have my very own home. Rebekah and I have really enjoyed moving into our apartment and setting it up however we want. We have also really enjoyed feeling out our own routines, even though we know they are bound to change a bit once we are both working. This last part is, finally, getting close to my point.

The routines that we have been established have largely fallen out of the simple needs of life. Eating and sleeping alone take up quite a bit of time for us, especially with Rebekah preparing almost every meal at home, and the two of us enjoying sleeping in a bit while we still can. It is already (perhaps even especially) in these basic things that we have begun to establish our own little family's traditions. For example, we go grocery shopping together once a week, and typically spend far more time than we intend to on each trip to the store. Although it's sometimes a bit of a drag, it's usually quite fun to plan out our meals for the week (many of which happen to be traditional meals passed down to us by our two of the best cooks I know--my mother and mother-in-law), write down the ingredients we need, and then go hunting for them in the vast, untamed jungle of Wal-Mart. This is one tradition that may not last forever, as one or the other of us becomes too busy on any given shopping day, but for the time being it's quite nice, and serves several purposes. First and foremost, it supplies us with food. It's also a good opportunity for talking, and a bit of exercise, during the long voyage through the aisles.

Another nice tradition we follow related to eating is going out for Sunday lunch. This is a tradition we have certainly made a conscious decision to keep up, but we didn't establish it ourselves. The ability to be passed on is one of the important things that makes a tradition what it is, and this tradition was handed down to us from Rebekah's parents. I honestly don't know how far back it goes, but it is pretty well set in stone in her family. The restaurant visited varies from week to week, but it's simply understood that lunch will be eaten shortly after leaving the church, prepared by a hired chef, and served by a waiter. I believe that there are two main reasons for this tradition. The first, I'm sure, is that people are usually quite hungry by the time they leave the church building. The second, I expect, is that the cook of the family needs a chance to rest from labor on the Lord's Day. I don't know for sure, but I have a feeling that there are quite a few people out there who enjoy this tradition. The crowded atmosphere of most restaurants and their parking lots on Sunday afternoons is rather compelling evidence. . .

The subject of Sundays and church brings up one of our most important traditions. No, I haven't changed my mind, and I'm not going to talk about the traditions of the church. Those traditions may play a role in determining which church we attend, but more important to this particular post is the tradition of simply attending church. I don't consider church attendance to be a law which we must fulfill, by any means. In the words of one of my former teachers, "It's not a gotta, it's a get ta." I confess that their have been times when I have strayed from the tradition of regular Sunday morning church attendance, and missed out on services for a week. When this happens, I don't so much feel guilty as I feel that I am missing out. There is no more precious or important gift than that which is freely proclaimed and distributed in church on Sunday morning, and for that reason, the tradition of attending church each Sunday is the most precious and important tradition I can think of for my family. I am quite grateful to say that I have been brought up in this tradition for as long as I can remember, as has my wife, which makes it quite easy to continue. I am also very grateful for a good congregation to attend nearby, which is also, quite conveniently, attended by some good friends and family of ours, who tend to make the lunch tradition that much more enjoyable!

I would love to be able to go to church many times during the week, as I used to do at Emmaus. In the future, I hope to add Wednesday night church services to our tradition, but for the time being it is quite difficult for us to regularly partake of that gift. I do not despair during the week, however, because I have the privilege of carrying on another wonderful tradition passed down from parents--daily catechesis. The daily meditation on the Word of God and prayer is certainly one of the most salutary practices I can think of, and no responsibility has been more impressed upon me than that of keeping my family grounded in that Word. What makes this tradition all the more easy to continue is that, not only has my father handed it down to me, but he also continues to provide a convenient form to follow on the internet each week. I'm not sure who might read this that wouldn't already know what I'm talking about, but just in case, here's a link which I would commend any reader of the English language to take a look at: http://www.emmaus24.org/ . Daily catechesis can be found in the bottom left corner of that page. I have to say, there are few things more humbling or awe-inspiring than the opportunity--or rather the duty--to continue that great tradition of the faith, in the pattern of sound words of catechesis, in my own household.

I now realize that this post has become much longer than I originally intended it, and may be a bit tiresome to read. I apologize if that's the case, and I'll bring it to a close. Before I do, however, I'm compelled to mention one last tradition, which was actually the first inspiration I had to write this. It may be, at least on the surface, an almost pointless or at least silly tradition for me to carry on at this point, but it is fun, if nothing else (and I actually think it's more than that). The tradition I'm speaking of is reading. More specifically reading stories, out loud, to my family. This is another tradition handed down to me from my parents, and the source of many of my fondest memories from my entire childhood. For the most part it involved one of my parents reading to my siblings and me, and, admittedly, I have not been blessed with any children yet. Thus, it may seem a bit silly. Rebekah is certainly capable of reading stories to herself, and even though she's still quite youthful, it would be quite a stretch to refer to her as a child (that is in the young person sense, as opposed to the offspring sense). What's more, the story that I have been reading to her--Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone--is one that I've already heard and read several times myself, so I probably wouldn't choose to read it to myself at this point (even though it is a great story). This may be one of those traditions that I'm carrying on without a really vital, compelling reason to do so. Still, I haven't been able to think of any compelling reason not to, so long as it doesn't interfere with my other duties (which it has not), and, if nothing else, the two of us both really enjoy it! I'm not yet sure if I will keep it up after we finish Harry Potter (although that alone will take quite a while), but for the time being I'm reveling in the freedom to enjoy doing things that other people might find silly, and looking forward to a time when I can read out loud to my own children.

So there you have it. The gist of this incredibly lengthy post is that Rebekah and I are actively engaging in, and enjoying, some family traditions. Many of them we have retained from our parents in one form or another, and some of them we have established on our own. Some of them make more sense than others but so far I don't think we've established anything harmful to ourselves or our neighbors. My hope is that as time goes by we can continue to establish some helpful traditions to serve our family and to have something to pass on to our children eventually.

For now I think I will sign off, and probably leave most visitors to this blog wondering if I will be carrying on another tradition of my father's, regarding the length of blog posts. I'll let y'all figure that out for yourselves ;-).

-Zachary