New Traditions

Daughter and I had a wonderful Easter dinner today-- just the two of us. It was a very good meal, and it was a total break with tradition. You see, my parents were procrastinators. They were good cooks, and could prepare wonderful meals. However, they always made it hard on themselves. Behind those good meals were frantic last minute preparations, last minute trips to the grocery store for things they had forgotten, and a terribly messy kitchen. If they weren't pulling everything together at the last minute, somehow it wasn't a holiday meal.

.

I've kept the tradition of good meals, and dumped everything else. The fact that I've lived 10+ miles from the closest grocery store for over 13 years has made me a much more efficient shopper. If I start to make something and find I'm missing an ingredient, it is because Daughter has snuck it out of the kitchen to eat it. If I'm not headed to town for something else, I postpone making whatever needed the missing ingredient.

.

Today we sat down to a good meal in a clean kitchen. We had ham, crescent rolls, a casserole made with brown rice and fresh broccoli, and strawberry cheesecake. All I had to do today was turn on the oven and open the can of crescent rolls. The rest of the preparation was done yesterday. I was able to enjoy a relaxed meal today. I was able to sit down and watch movies this afternoon without feeling like I should be cleaning the kitchen.

.

There are still other areas where I am not as prepared as I'd like. Too many weeks I'm finishing my sermon on Saturday evening. The desk in my study is an ongoing battle. I figure that if I can break the holiday meal chaos habit, I can become more organized in other areas as well. I can hold onto my parents' good traditions, and improve on the more stressful ones.

.

It's kind of like picking and choosing which of their personal items I want to keep. I keep the ones that give me joy and dispense with the ones that cause me stress or grief. I can do the same with their habits and traditions. I'm grateful for the tradition of good food and holiday meals they passed on to me. I'm glad that I was able to improve the tradition.