The handing down of customs from generation to generation.
My husband grew up with many family traditions. I love to watch him tell the boys stories about "when he was a kid". One favorite family tradition was their annual car trip back to Oklahoma for the family reunion. Once, they made a stop at the Grand Canyon. They all got out of the car to take a look...and after 2 minutes Poppy (my father in law) said "Okay, you have all seen it now get back in the car so we can get back on schedule."
Coming from a farming family there was a lot of time spent in the kitchen. Big breakfasts of biscuits, gravy and sausage. My mother in law makes THE BEST scrambled eggs. Why is it that farming wives are the best cooks? I have done my best to take one of the husbands favorite traditions and introduce it into our family.
Summer no longer seems complete without a day or two of slicing apricots...
Chopping them into little pieces...cups and cups and CUPS of little pieces...
Standing over the hot stove, stirring, stirring and stirring some more...did I mention that we do this in Summer??? The HEAT of summer?
And in the end...having beautiful jars of jam to share with our friends.
I will never forget the first time I joined in on this family tradition. I was 9 months pregnant and because I was ready to burst, my mother and sister in law gave me the job of stirring with the reasoning that I could sit on the stool and do it. Looking back...no air conditioning and being 102 that day...I don't think sitting had anything to do with it. They were breaking me in and they did a good job.
My mother in law no longer participates on those hot summer days but she still enjoys the bounty of our hard work. I wonder if one of my sons future wives will be interested in joining our little summer party. I think she will have to start off by stirring...
