Thankful for Traditions... finally.

I started to post this in yesterday's blog, but decided it needed its own space. It's short (again, not much time), but important, especially since I know my mom reads this blog occasionally.

I discovered (much to my chagrin) that I've actually started to appreciate this relatively new tradition my mother started in 2000. All of us were death to it back when she started it, but did it because... well, she's mom, and sometimes love and honor means doing these silly things. So, she started us tracing our hands, then writing what we're thankful for on the fingers. The first few years she had them laminated, but the last few years they haven't been. I realized how special and meaningful this tradition was when I walked into mom and dad's dining room and saw them all posted on the wall - seven years of four kids and (now) eight grandkids sharing what we're thankful for down through the years. It was amazing to go back over the years and see what we're thankful for. My opinion: Having it written down has been more meaningful to me now, after only 8 years, than all the candlelight services we've had for at least 15 years now, if not longer. My kids still complained, but they'll learn, too. Thanks, mom, for an amazing way to remind us of an important, scriptural principle: We always have something to be thankful for.