Tradition

I think about my past a lot.  Especially around the Holiday's I think about how it used to be celebrated.  Halloween our family went to my Grandma B's. She always had homemade Apple Cider and Homemade doughnuts.  She always had on a white button up shirt with embroidered pumpkins down the front around the buttons.  Her older friends would always be there around around the table.  Our extended family would be there as well in costumes that I always thought were too scary. =)  I don't recall us actually trick or treating around my Grandma's neighborhood because the houses were too far apart.  My mom and brothers were VERY serious about our Trick of Treating.  Since we delivered newspapers all over our city my mom knew just where to go to get the most bang for our buck.  The boys would grab pillow cases and fill them up with candy.  I remember Ryan talking of pitting neighbors against each other by saying something like, "Your neighbor just gave me extra candy for having such a cool costume."  Apparently this worked and Ryan got lots of candy.  After Halloween we would set up a "store" to trade our candy with each other. 

Thanksgiving and Christmas once again we go to my Grandma B's.  She would pull out the nice goblets and glasses, the nice silverware and set up the formal dining room.  It was classic!  Our whole family would come together and it would be a whole day long event.  I remember some of the food staying out so we could snack on it for awhile.  Various family members would take turns sleeping by the fireplace on Christmas.  Different Christmas' brought the present opening to different living rooms.  Some years it was in the "Blue Room" as we all called it, because of course it was all blue and white!! or the regular family room.  Present opening time was CRAZY!!!  I recall just about always being bummed because there were so many gifts and I seemed to think with all the gifts I should have gotten more. =P Yes, I was spoiled, but to a child's eyes it is hard to comprehend so many presents and not coming away with more right?!

We still keep in touch with the tradition of Christmas with my Grandma B's family, her Brothers and Mom.  Mostly we go to our Uncle Doug's, My Grandma's Brother for Christmas dinner, but it has been at times at our Aunt Diane and Uncle Bill's home.  We have the traditional Ham and scalloped potato's.  I gotta say the older I have gotten I have looked forward more and more to getting together with my Grandma's side of the family.  When I was younger I think I was scared I would break something, and also just being a kid in a place I don't go to often had me nervous.  But now it's more fun, to talk with the family.  I feel closer to them now.

A new tradition after Adam got married and Grandma passed was I started being invited over to Lise's parent's house for Christmas Eve Spread!  Oh my goodness.  If you want to feel the Norman Rockwell Christmas spirit, get invited to the Hilton's for Christmas!!  This is the best shot in the arm of Christmas spirit you can have.  We have yummy soups, bagels etc.  Their house is decorated so perfectly, we go out caroling, Not my favorite part but it's part of the feeling and I love it even though I don't like it. =) We gather around their piano and sing lots of Christmas songs while Lee plays the piano.  Then the kids share a Christmas message or talent.  And the Head of the House reads the Nativity from the scriptures to end the evening.  Not only do you feel the Christmas Spirit, but you feel the spirit!  Once Evan started coming with me to the Hilton's it was his favorite part of Christmas too.  Evan and I talk about missing the Hilton's Christmas every year since we have lived here in TN.  I'm glad to be going home this year to be apart of the tradition again and I'm excited Reagan gets to have his first taste of this too.  I just wish he could remember it.  I must learn to play the piano so we can relive this as my boys grow.

Christmas morning...or more Brunch was always Christmas Crepes at Grandma's.  Now that I have made my own crepes and I see how fast they go, I have so much more respect for all the work my Grandma put into that breakfast.  OJ, sausage, bacon, crepes with strawberries or blueberries, eggs.  MMMmmm.  My brother Adam keeps this tradition alive for our family every year, thank goodness!  Ryan and Beth, more Beth,  keeps my Grandma's Halloween tradition of cider and doughnuts alive.  Maybe we keep alive the traditions that meant the most to us.

Since my Grandma died, and I guess even a little before that, traditions faded.  But as long as my Grandma was alive I always knew what our family was doing for the Holiday's.  After she was gone our whole family just split off, and that includes my immediate family.  I didn't know what to do anymore.  Occasions where we got together, my Mom and Brothers, we would show up right before it was time to eat, and pretty much leave after we were done eating.

Evan's family gets together for Holiday's and it lasts a lot longer than more recent Holiday's with my family do.  But it is still VERY different.  Thanksgiving the family doesn't gather around tables, most eat off our laps.  I think that bothers me most because Evan and I don't have room in our home for a table and eat off of our laps every day.  It would be nice, (because I miss it) to have a whole family sitting around a dinner table again.  I'm getting more comfortable with Evan's family.  But it is still a lot of people and I can't help but be nervous of saying something wrong.  With my family it's MY family.  They will love me no matter what, and they know me so well.  I get a general uneasy feeling by a few of the "add-in's" (those that married in, or joined the family by marriage)  Maybe it's common for add-ins to take awhile to feel comfortable with new family.  I do like that the Waldroup family sticks around for Holiday's to talk and play games.  That really helps to bring the Season home.  I look forward to keeping some of my Grandma's traditions alive as my family grows.  This year I think I have done really well bringing my Grandma's memories alive in my family.
The biggest thing I can't get used to yet with Evan's family is they are VERY on time!!  When they say eat at 2pm, they eat at 2pm!  And it seems to not be acceptable to show up late.  Evan hates when I won't wake up Reagan so we can be on time for family functions.  I'm seriously so used to our family not being ready to eat for awhile I don't see what the issue is, plus, even if our family does eat on time we still have half our family showing up late anyway!  So I guess this is another Powell tradition I'm keeping alive. =) heehee

The inspiration for this post came from 2 recent conversations I had.  I mentioned to my Mom how I missed Holiday's with Grandma.  Then the biggest confirmation that I was not alone in my feelings was talking with my Brother Ryan and he brought up how he missed Holiday's at Grandma's.  That made my heart swell, to hear my Brother mention my Grandma and missing her.  I wasn't alone.  I wonder what Grandma thinks of us all every year, seeing us all separated?  I know this isn't what she would want.