I'm a creature of habit. I know I've mentioned this before, but it's a truth that bears repeating. I think my love of tradition has a little to do with a mild case of OCD and a lot to do with a childhood filled with them. Summers at the farm, Christmas stockings that were actually Grampa's skinny, black dress socks with a clementine in the toe, Tuesday morning breakfasts with my dad, Friday night pizza every single week for almost the entirety of my memory.
I love traditions. Whether it's eating a banana the same way every time (ask anyone in my family and see if they can stop laughing long enough to explain how I just have to do that particular task) or waking up on December mornings to see which ornament our family elf hid in the living room, I'm a sucker for knowing what's coming next.
It's partly why I'm settling so nicely into Primary Caregiver life, I think (despite the occasional hiccup of wanting anything but this sameness). While the days and weeks here are often mind-numbingly repetitive now that I'm not working on the wards, there's something comforting in the routine. Treat Tuesdays, Walk Wednesdays, Bible study and Community Gathering on Thursdays, watching football in Midships with other ManU fans on the weekends in between naps and feeds.
To be totally fair, anything that I do more than once or twice in a row is likely to get labeled as tradition and continued indefinitely. The most recent addition to our lives is Guacamole Saturdays. With the advent of avocado season here in West Africa, the ingredients for fresh guacamole are just a short walk to the market away. For a dollar or two you can buy everything you need, and the dining room has conveniently been serving flatbread on Saturday mornings.
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So while Zoe naps (or while she rolls around on the floor, shunning her toys in favour of the much more interesting chair leg or cabinet door, of course), the HoJ and I share a weekend treat. When Zoe hits six months and we start solids with her, she'll have her own version to sample, since I think we're going to start with avocado as her first food.
Long may this particular tradition continue.
(And just in case you think nothing exciting ever happens around here, check out this blog entry about the very out-of-the-ordinary night we had last night. The HoJ stayed in the cabin with a sleeping Zoe so I could dress up and go to the opera. Seriously.)
What are your favourite family traditions? I love hearing what other people count dear enough to repeat over and over.
I love traditions. Whether it's eating a banana the same way every time (ask anyone in my family and see if they can stop laughing long enough to explain how I just have to do that particular task) or waking up on December mornings to see which ornament our family elf hid in the living room, I'm a sucker for knowing what's coming next.
It's partly why I'm settling so nicely into Primary Caregiver life, I think (despite the occasional hiccup of wanting anything but this sameness). While the days and weeks here are often mind-numbingly repetitive now that I'm not working on the wards, there's something comforting in the routine. Treat Tuesdays, Walk Wednesdays, Bible study and Community Gathering on Thursdays, watching football in Midships with other ManU fans on the weekends in between naps and feeds.
To be totally fair, anything that I do more than once or twice in a row is likely to get labeled as tradition and continued indefinitely. The most recent addition to our lives is Guacamole Saturdays. With the advent of avocado season here in West Africa, the ingredients for fresh guacamole are just a short walk to the market away. For a dollar or two you can buy everything you need, and the dining room has conveniently been serving flatbread on Saturday mornings.
So while Zoe naps (or while she rolls around on the floor, shunning her toys in favour of the much more interesting chair leg or cabinet door, of course), the HoJ and I share a weekend treat. When Zoe hits six months and we start solids with her, she'll have her own version to sample, since I think we're going to start with avocado as her first food.
Long may this particular tradition continue.
(And just in case you think nothing exciting ever happens around here, check out this blog entry about the very out-of-the-ordinary night we had last night. The HoJ stayed in the cabin with a sleeping Zoe so I could dress up and go to the opera. Seriously.)
What are your favourite family traditions? I love hearing what other people count dear enough to repeat over and over.