Step 248: Create your own traditions
This is a lovely step, suggested by the lovely radarwas. She wrote:
One of the harder parts of becoming an adult is creating new traditions. As time goes on, we lose the people that we love or we drift apart from the people we grew up with…eventually, holidays will need new traditions created for them.
Traditions are such a great human construct. Maybe animals have them, too*, but at least so far as our species is concerned, it sort of gives a shape and comfort and familiarity to our years.
Part of this is taking an active role in current traditions. Establishing yourself as a grownup, in the eyes of your family, should be done at least partially by assuming grown-up roles within the family. That means showing up with wrapped gifts at Christmas instead of just stealing supplies from your mom, bringing food to Thanksgiving, etc.
But what if your family sucks? Many do! If this is the case, there is no reason in the world that you can’t decide on your own holiday traditions. And they can be whatever the fuck you want, so long as it’s meaningful (or not!) and fun for you. Laser tag on Easter? Yeah! Every Fourth of July, you make 20 French Dip sandwiches and get drunk on pinot gris? Sure!
Further suggested traditions:
• The third weekend in September is Drink A Bunch of Apple Cider and Watch Downtown Abbey Day
• Every last Sunday of the month, everyone comes over to your apartment and plays Nintendo 64 while wearing fetching hats
* I love the idea of, say, toucans gathering on a regular basis just to remind each other that they’re alive and care about one another. Toucan Mother’s Day, etc.
