The End of a Tradition
This past Friday night a tradition ended with the growth of my son.
From Super Stuffy’s birth, I have always wanted to create traditions for our family. Whenever we go to Story Book Island, we take pictures of Super Stuffy and Bear Bear next to the same statues. We have pizza and pop every Saturday night. We open our Christmas presents first thing Christmas morning. When the kids were small, we would spend together time on Saturday night watching funny videos or movies. They would do the same thing with dad on Sunday nights.
Campouts
I started the tradition of our “campout” when the kids were still small enough for me to carry. It first started on Friday nights. I would turn all the lights off and light our oil lamp. We would put a blanket down on the floor and then we would watch a movie. Back then I was able to carry the kids upstairs to bed. So I would wait till they fell asleep and then carry them to bed.
Our tradition changed, however, when I wanted to use our “campout” as a behavior tool. The kids earned points during the week for following directions, picking up their toys, helping me out with chores, etc. If, at the end of the week they had enough points, then they could participate in the “campout.” That did not work very well because I could not say “no” to them for the campout. So I pulled the campout away from discipline and just instituted it as a weekly fun thing. It was then that we started spending the entire night sleeping in the living room.
Our campouts have changed over the years
Over the years we have changed the ways that we do our campout. We started by sleeping on the floor. That changed to sleeping on air mattresses, to finally sleeping on a sofa sleeper. However, only two people could fit on the air mattresses and the sofa sleeper, so they took turns sleeping next to mom. I, as the mom, claimed the right to the mattresses simply on the fact that I can’t sleep on the floor anymore. The assumed meal for our Friday night campout is Kraft macaroni and cheese. That is their favorite meal of the week. (I can’t believe that is still true). 
Both of them negotiated with each other to determine who gets to sleep next to mom on the sofa bed, and they have tied that to who gets the first pick of the macaroni and cheese. (A long time ago I helped them to start these negotiations, but ever since I have stayed out of it. I am so glad that I did.) The other person then chooses whether they want to sleep on the floor, on the couch cushions, or on one of our recliners.
This is my kids favorite tradition, but it’s becoming harder for me
During the past year or so, I have become more reluctant to participate in our campouts because it is getting harder for me to sleep on the sofa bed. But I still continue to participate, just because it is one of our strongest traditions, and I know that it is creating a lot of good memories for my kids. Not only that, but I know that when they are gone I will miss these times.
This past Friday night, it was Super Stuffy’s turn to sleep next to mom. However, he declined the sofa bed because he said it was just “too weird”. While I understand what he means, it created a melancholy in my heart. I remembered back to the times when I would put one child on each side of me on my bed and we would nap together. The times when Super Stuffy would just come to cuddle with me. A particular memory when we all bundled up and laid next to each other on the trampoline outside, protecting each other from the chilly wind. All of the times that we wrestled with each other. (Especially the times when Super Stuffy was a toddler, and I would let him wrestle me to the ground.)
This tradition will soon come to an end…
I realized at that moment that our campouts are in their final stretch. My kids are getting to the point where it’s not as exciting to spend that time with their mom. That’s ok, but it’s just another example to me that they are growing up, and I need to cherish these remaining few years that I have with them.
And even though I see an end to that particular tradition, I have decided to start a new tradition. We are going to take each Friday afternoon and my goal is to spend two or three hours with each child individually. Two weeks ago, Bear Bear and I went shopping together. Last week Super Stuffy and I stayed home and played video games together. All of these things, to me, are more important than all the school work and chores that we do. When my kids look back on their childhood, I want them to remember most that I spent time with them and we strengthened our relationships.
Even though some of these traditions get harder as I get older, they are so worth it. When my kids look back on their childhoods, those traditions will be the things that they remember.
What traditions have you created for your children? Are there some others that you can start? Let me know in the comments below.
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