Although you can't tell by this Mohave weather, it is finally November. My favorite month of the year!! Why is it my favorite month? Like others, I too love the smells, the colors and the tastes of fall. I love (love, love) coats and jackets of all styles; throw on a trendy scarf and you are fallified. But more than anything, I love the traditions our family has come to embrace during this time of the year.
Traditions are important for all families, but they are espeacially important for the military family. Traditions are a thread of consistency for the military family. They are not bound by locations, they are not hindered by a move, they go where you go and set down roots where you set down roots (and if you are creative enough, some traditions can be packed up in a box and mailed to an APO address on the other side of the world). They tie together generations and continue on through to the next generations. Traditions paint a picture of your family, and they are a gift to your children to take and hold close in their hearts or to share one day with their own families. Sometimes, old traditions inspire new traditions.
Last night I had Iain dig my last fall box out of the garage. I think I gasped like a little girl when I opened it and saw my few, but much loved Thanksgiving treasures. Almost like opening a present for the first time. I thought I would share with you some of our treasures, in case your family is looking for a new tradition this fall. Or, better yet, share with me some of your favorite fall traditions.
I like for our whole month to center around and lead up to Thanksgiving day, so we start right at the beginning of November. For years we have used a little resource from FamilyLife called "ThanksLiving Treasures." It is a little box full of all sorts of things to look at while reading through the Thanksgiving story. The box goes very well with FamilyLife's book Thanksgiving: A Time to Remeber, by Barbara Rainey. It is a keepsake book that also has a wonderful Thanksgiving CD with hymns for the season. We also read through a newer book by Barbara Rainey called, "Growing Together in Gratitude; Stories of Faith for Families" This is good for older children as it touches on some difficult circumstances people have gone through and still managed to give thanks to God in all things. Every year we re-memorize Ps. 100. This is the Psalm the pilgrims recited when they first saw land. This year we are adding a new memory vs. Ps. 77:11-14.
On Thanksgiving day, we also go around the table and say what we are thankful for, but we place 5 kernels of corn on each persons plate. The kernels represent a particularly hard winter for the pilgrims when each person's food ration was only 5 kernels of corn, and yet no one died of starvation that winter. We say one thing we are thankful for per each kernel of corn. I think this year I will grow that tradition by writing down each persons response. We do the traditional meal at that day, but for breakfast we always have french toast casserole!!
What I love best about traditions, is you can't really get them wrong. They can be simple and silly or deep and meaningful; sometimes they show up spontaneously and sometimes great planning goes into them. However they present themselves, I always love having them around!
