Being a first time mom, I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about the kind of childhood I had and the kind of childhood I’d like Fiona to have.  To be honest, I don’t remember very much about what life was like when I was a kid, but it isn’t lost on me that the memories I do have are the ones that are part of the traditions that we created as a family. The ones that gave me a role and a part in our little group.

It is those traditions that I go back to when I find myself lost in my current life, and look forward to every time I find myself packing a bag and heading “home.”  It is in them that I find comfort because they connect me to the people I love.  

I want Fiona to always want to come home and have a reason to.  I don’t want her to come just to see her aging parents after she has gone out into the world to live her life, but I want her to come fill her role in the traditions and rituals Hugh and I started creating before she came along and maybe share them and evolve them once she has her own family.

The small ones like breakfast together every morning, and the big ones like elaborate holidays.

Now that Fiona is becoming more active and aware, I want to share our values with her her through tradition as she takes her place in our family. I also look forward to expanding the rituals that encompass our traditions so that she will be a vital part of them and will grow to love them.

Because it will be life’s greatest reward to be old and know that we have a daughter who will always want to come home.