Clippings Article
It seems appropriate, in this coming year of change, to talk about establishing new traditions. That doesn’t mean tossing out the old, but rather making way for the changes that are ahead and learning how to embrace them with all the richness of family rituals.
I speak for many, as an adult with three grown daughters, to recognize that the holiday traditions we celebrated 20 years ago when they were young, giddy and true-believers, are much different today. Not yet the granddad and with daughters in the Rockies and further West, the four of us gather when we can and celebrate togetherness simply because we miss each other and rejoice in the bonding of just being together.
We ski. We run. We hike, bike, kayak, swim, water-ski, rock-climb or just hang on the porch and gab away the hours. This past January we had cause to go to Hawaii to see an uncle of mine married and be part of the wedding party. We all took time off from work and school (not an easy thing in itself) and spent the better part of a week playing on the shores of Oahu and being with family. We played in the surf, toured the island, paid $10 each to open a clam and see what type of pearl would be inside; two of us took surfing lessons after the other two had to get back to their respective responsibilities, and we all had a memorable time together.
Three months later, two daughters and I met in Big Sur, California to run in their first marathon along that spectacular coast to Carmel. We started the race together, ran stride for stride for those 26 miles and crossed the finish hand-in-hand triumphant over our heads. That night I treated them to cocktails at Carmel’s Highlands Lodge and saw a glorious, blazing orange sunset over the Pacific in country made famous by photographer Ansel Adams. It was an occasion not to forget.
