Tradition

Tradition is such a funny word to me. At once it describes something that has not changed but is repeated in spite of change in situation, and therefore cannot truly exist. We enjoy our family traditions that have been passed down generation to generation. And yet each year we tweak them, just slightly. Because in reality we cannot replicate the past, no matter how carefully we study it. Maybe that's the beauty of tradition. We create our own traditions every year within the greater framework of what those before us have done.

My family to has old traditions, and ones that only started this year. We have traditions that lasted a few years and may eventually resume. For a few years the weeks before Christmas were spent on movie marathons. One year was John Cusack movies (I definitely insisted Anastasia be on the list). Another year was everything Hitchcock. It seemed a little anti-holiday to be watching Psycho and The Birds as everyone around us was fawning over classics like White Christmas and Santa Clause. But it was something that gave us an excuse to spend evenings together and something to analyze and talk about. Unfortunately, the following years didn't allow us to spend multiple evenings like this.

Now our tradition is to turn on 24 hours of A Christmas Story. The entire time it's on I don't think we watch it all the way through, but we laugh at our favorite parts even though we probably see those four minutes three times. And there are more new traditions. I'm learning to balance splitting the holidays between two families - and still finding time to relax and enjoy the break!

And it's the perfect time to start even more new traditions with the new year.  Bringing in 2014 with friends, sharing a midnight kiss. But one tradition that will remain is watching the fireworks at the Space Needle and spending the moment with the important people in my life.

It really is the little things

There's always at least two ways to look at everything.

Coffee
-That lovely feeling of holding a freshly brewed cup in your hands as the aroma permeates the house.

-The headache that throbs in your temples if you happen to forget that morning cup of joe.

Rain on the roof
-The irregular pitter patter will not let you rest. As soon as there's a break and your muscles relax into the mattress that ping comes back, reverberating in your skin and shaking your eyelids open once again.

-Leaving your window open in summer and falling asleep to a soft waterfall while that fresh smell of rain fills your nose and you close your eyes.

Catching a snowflake on your tongue
-Enjoying the magic of nature and letting your inner child show.

-Catching sight of a single flake and growing anxious about driving, walking... allowing worry to overtake wonder.

-Acting like a child and sticking out your tongue to snag that one, perfect, crisp snowflake.

A ball of yarn and a pair of needles
-A mindless task to allow your mind to wander while your fingers work.

-A mess of yarn that's a project in itself just to untangle.


We really can wake up on the wrong side of the bed and allow it to effect our entire day. We could also wake up in a completely grouchy mood and choose to change it - and letting go can be difficult. Taking a moment to recognize the different ways of viewing the situation means we can actively start our day in the frame of mind we want.

A fun fact: it's proven that you become happier just from the action of smiling. There are some days when I'm driving to work and not entirely in the right frame of mind to deal with people yet and I just start smiling. Times like these I'm extremely happy to have the privacy of my car, because I probably look like a crazy person, alternately smiling and frowning, then bursting out laughing at myself.

So when you wake up, smile. About anything, about nothing. Let the muscles work their magic on your mind.

That Picture in Our Heads

It's funny how we create a fantasy in our minds of our ideal situation. Or at least, what we believe to be ideal. I am a firm believer that we don't know what we want until we get it -it's been that way with the best things in my life. When you leave yourself open to opportunity it tends to show up and surprise. So here's to leaving expectations behind and enjoying life's twists and turns.