Autumn traditions make special times with grandchildren fun. Autumn is also an excellent time for establishing and practicing family customs. I learned something important about succeeding with family traditions and customs recently. Success is not defined by the activity, the extravagance of it, or even the nature of the tradition.
It’s defined by what our grandchildren take away from the traditions and family customs we practice.
Here’s how this lesson was driven home to me recently...
Our family has made a tradition of traveling together on a cruise every year or two. On most trips, it’s a large, boisterous group of 14-16 people. There can be stress along the way and even a few oops moments.
But.
Three of the grandchildren recently wrote about what they love about our trips. They were hoping to inspire another trip and didn’t know we already had one secretly planned for a very short time from now, so it was fun to see them take on these papers spontaneously. What was beautiful for me was to hear a word that was recurring. The recurring word was TOGETHER.
Mission accomplished!
Of course, there’s fun, adventure, and vacation extravagance on the trips, but the joy they honed in on was the time our immediate family group spent together for travel, meals, and adventure. Grandma was thrilled and gratified!
As you plan and prepare for autumn traditions or work on establishing new or practicing time-tested family customs, take note of the simple pleasures to be had and remembered by simply being together with those you love. If you enjoy that simple pleasure, chances are your grandchildren also feel it.
In my book, that’s a great success.