That title sounds a lot more gloomy than I intended. It really has to do with this:
Daniel can’t fit his face into that wooden football player’s anymore. They both can’t poke their heads out the window of the cute pumpkin carriage. And this:
They are both getting WAY too big to sit on that little blue tractor. The one they have sat on for the past seven years.
My husband and I both looked at each other after we left the little pumpkin patch a few weeks ago and said, “Maybe we should do something else next year? Move on? Start a NEW tradition?”
It’s kinda sad. I’ve had pictures of the kids at this same pumpkin patch every year since they were wee little ones. I’d dress them in western wear or Halloween outfits. We’d always take the mandatory photos and then pick out our Halloween pumpkins. I’d also grab some colorful gourds for the dining table. But we’ve just outgrown it.
It’s funny because I never think about the end when we start a new family tradition. I imagine it being forever. I enjoy traditions because I’m a sentimental person. I love creating memories and experiencing them again year after year. It’s comforting. Most of our traditions are holiday related, but not all of them. We always pick out our Christmas tree the day after Thanksgiving and buy one new ornament every year at the mall. I leave my kids a construction paper note with a small gift on the first day of school. I take them out to lunch on their last day of school. They get a small gift on their half birthdays. We go to the same beach condo every year.
But as they get older, some of these traditions will more than likely fade away. I will seriously weep when we stop visiting Santa. And I know the kids will want to venture out on their summer vacations. And now I need to start looking for a new pumpkin patch. One with more “big kid” things to do. And then the day will come when I’ll just pick up pumpkins at the grocery store on my way home from some school event. And that’s okay.
It’s my life with my family. There are so many moments. So much motion. Every experience is new and exciting and as soon as you figure out the routine and fall into that cozy space, it changes. Not for the bad. But for the new again. You can’t enjoy the same ride too long. You have to finally get off the little blue tractor and let someone else have a turn.
