Rituals

One of the things all new parents come to know, love and respect is the mighty SCHEDULE.  The first few months of Piglet's life were spent trying to decipher some semblance of a schedule just so we could, you know, SURVIVE.  

As Piglet's schedule began to reveal itself - naps "around" two hours after waking, awake for three hours, naps again etc.  The obsession with a schedule began to fall away and many of the things we would do together each day became less routine and more RITUAL.  Some things remain just part of our daily routine like diaper changes, eating Cheerios and nail trims.  But some things are RITUALS and they are PRECIOUS.  For instance,

Every

morning

I 

wash

and 

comb

the

baby's

hair.  

~~~~~~

Every

weekend

we 

go 

for

a 

family

walk.

~~~~~~

Every 

day

we 

sing

the

Hello

Song

from

music

class.

~~~~~~

Every

Saturday 

we 

go 

to 

the 

Farmer's

Market

and 

share

a 

tamale.

It's these RITUALS and not SCHEDULES that define our relationship and our family.  It makes our interactions memorable and sacred and anything but mundane.  So the next time you're marching through your day like the good soldier you are, stop and think about your favorite bits and pieces of the day or week and consider sifting out the RITUALS from the SCHEDULE. The little things you do all the time that might seem like just part of your normal routine may actually be little rituals that you'll look back on with so much fondness one day. 

I am also a huge fan of TRADITIONS but that's another entry all together, particularly with the holidays approaching. :)