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I was born to my parents late in life. Not only was I the 1)tail-end of my 2)immediate family, but the very last grandchild of a family of nine children with many years in between all of us. Sometimes I felt cheated because the boys grew up with the cousins and I barely knew any of them. Also, mom and dad did things with them that were “3)old hat” by the time I 4)came along.
We had certain traditions in our home growing up that I took for granted for many years. Simple things, sausage and cereal supper on Christmas Eve before opening our presents, the special red dishes that were only brought out on my birthday, and we each had an Easter “bowl” full of candy as long as we were living at home. These were things you could count on year after year.
Both of my brothers died young (one was 41, the other 55) and dad died during the years between. These losses were extremely hard, especially on mother. Last year I lost my mother. This was by far the hardest loss to deal with. My life has been an emotional 5)roller coaster since her death.
I have a husband who has been so supportive throughout the years, even when it would have been much easier for him to turn and run. We have a 20-year-old son who is engaged to a wonderful girl. And we have a 17-year-old daughter who is a senior. Our home is filled with teenagers’ laughing, someone coming or going all of the time.
Even though we have traditions in our home, most of them were the ones passed down from my mother. I decided to start some of our own.
This is not new to most families, but it is one we did not do when I was growing up—Sunday dinner.
With all of our busy schedules, we are rarely at home to eat a meal together anymore. On Sundays after church, the kids often go to do their own things and my husband and I go out to a restaurant.
About four weeks ago I announced, “Sunday night I am cooking and we are eating as a family.” Our son brought his fiancée and our daughter brought her boyfriend. It was an instant hit. The kids were all telling stories and laughing, and I sat back and smiled thinking “this is it, this is what we need.” The next weekend I announced again, “Don’t forget supper at six o’clock on Sunday night.”
The kids all 6)filed in just in time for the meal. By the third week, our daughter’s boyfriend was here on Saturday afternoon and he asked if I was cooking on Sunday night! I could see the kids were enjoying it as much as we were.
Yesterday was week four. The usual announcement was made on Saturday that we would be having 7)chili at six o’clock on Sunday night. We had not seen the kids all day and at around 5:30 P.M. each of them had called home saying that they were on their way and not to get started without them!
Simple pleasures, fa-mily and friends...To spend time with the ones you love, and to treasure each day you have with them. I have been learning from the best, and I’m sure our family will continue with our old traditions—and it is never too late to start new ones.
注：“本文中所涉及到的图表、注解、公式等内容请以PDF格式阅读原文。”
We had certain traditions in our home growing up that I took for granted for many years. Simple things, sausage and cereal supper on Christmas Eve before opening our presents, the special red dishes that were only brought out on my birthday, and we each had an Easter “bowl” full of candy as long as we were living at home. These were things you could count on year after year.
Both of my brothers died young (one was 41, the other 55) and dad died during the years between. These losses were extremely hard, especially on mother. Last year I lost my mother. This was by far the hardest loss to deal with. My life has been an emotional 5)roller coaster since her death.
I have a husband who has been so supportive throughout the years, even when it would have been much easier for him to turn and run. We have a 20-year-old son who is engaged to a wonderful girl. And we have a 17-year-old daughter who is a senior. Our home is filled with teenagers’ laughing, someone coming or going all of the time.
Even though we have traditions in our home, most of them were the ones passed down from my mother. I decided to start some of our own.
This is not new to most families, but it is one we did not do when I was growing up—Sunday dinner.
With all of our busy schedules, we are rarely at home to eat a meal together anymore. On Sundays after church, the kids often go to do their own things and my husband and I go out to a restaurant.
About four weeks ago I announced, “Sunday night I am cooking and we are eating as a family.” Our son brought his fiancée and our daughter brought her boyfriend. It was an instant hit. The kids were all telling stories and laughing, and I sat back and smiled thinking “this is it, this is what we need.” The next weekend I announced again, “Don’t forget supper at six o’clock on Sunday night.”
The kids all 6)filed in just in time for the meal. By the third week, our daughter’s boyfriend was here on Saturday afternoon and he asked if I was cooking on Sunday night! I could see the kids were enjoying it as much as we were.
Yesterday was week four. The usual announcement was made on Saturday that we would be having 7)chili at six o’clock on Sunday night. We had not seen the kids all day and at around 5:30 P.M. each of them had called home saying that they were on their way and not to get started without them!
Simple pleasures, fa-mily and friends...To spend time with the ones you love, and to treasure each day you have with them. I have been learning from the best, and I’m sure our family will continue with our old traditions—and it is never too late to start new ones.
注：“本文中所涉及到的图表、注解、公式等内容请以PDF格式阅读原文。”