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Dear Readers,
November is a time when we celebrate family
traditions. Whether we realize it or not, we all
have family traditions. Sometimes they just evolve
over the years. Many of the traditions in our family
came about because of something I did or something
our children did that we all enjoyed. Over the years
these traditions have changed because of the age of
our children or perhaps because of where we lived.
Our family traditions have always enriched our
lives, strengthened the bonds between our children
and us and created great memories.
It’s never too late to start traditions. There is no
doubt that children love them. There are few things
more comforting to our kids than knowing they can
count on their family’s traditions.
Sometimes, a tradition can come from a hobby or
something new we learn. I have a family tradition in
mind I hope our family will start and carry on for
many years: scuba diving. I know it sounds strange,
but our family likes to scuba dive. My husband and I
were swimmers when we were growing up. Both of us
learned how to water-ski at a young age. Doug was a
competitive swimmer and I was a lifeguard. Both our
families had vacation homes on a lake where we went
often. We grew up in the Midwest so the ocean was
not an option, but going to the lake was a great
activity for young families.
When our family moved to Virginia, we started scuba
diving. Now we have 5 divers in our family, our
oldest daughter is an instructor, her husband has
advanced certification and our youngest daughter is
a master diver.
Just a few days ago, my grandson Bryan became a
certified diver. Now we have three generations of
divers. I am so excited and proud! Bryan started
swimming on his school’s swim team a year ago and he
loves it. Swimming is a great sport and we have had
competitive swimmers in our family for many, many
years. But, 4 years ago when our youngest went off
to college and stopped swimming competitively, I
thought our days in competitive swimming were over.
I was so surprised when Bryan decided to try
swimming. And I was even more surprised that he
likes it so much. Now he has learned how to scuba
dive.
Now we have a traditional scuba trip to plan. I am
thinking maybe something in warm water would work. .
. ? The possibilities are endless and endlessly
exciting!
‘Til December, Happy Parenting
Brenda
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