Traditions

I read that today is the last sequential date of the century (12/13/14), so I thought, since I wasn't going to write it anywhere else, I'd at least make note of it here.

Well, I can check that off the list and be done. But, while I'm here, I may as well muse on some other topic as well.

For the last few Christmases, I've felt like something is a little lacking. I haven't been able to put my finger on what, or why, but this year, something occurred to me: I have no Christmas traditions.

At least, none of my own. Growing up, my family definitely had traditions (otherwise, why would I even care?!) but as an adult with no immediate family of my own except myself*, I tend to have one tradition, which is crashing at someone else's for the holiday and going along with their traditions. This is not a horrible thing--I have had some very wonderful Christmases, had fun with darling kids, and really enjoyed visiting with family (see *). But the only rituals I have at Christmas are eating more sugar than is good for me, watching Christmas movies, listening to Christmas music, and decorating. All of which create a great atmosphere, but don't really fill the season with meaning and draw me closer to Christ.

So I am going to try to create some traditions for myself. I've got a plan and while it isn't much, it is a start.

It may seem weird to create traditions for me and me alone, but sometimes, you have to stop waiting around for things to happen. I decided long ago that I wasn't going to wait to get married to buy tools, household appliances, furniture, etc., and it's about time I decide to do the same with traditions. So there, world!

*I'm in this weird place in life, where my immediate family still consists of all my siblings and parents, yet I think my siblings' immediate family may not consist of the same thing. Biologically, it's the same, I think, but in terms of a nuclear unit of people, it's different. This is as it should be--their priorities should be their immediate families (i.e. spouse and children). But that means my immediate family is me, which is just boring.