TRADITIONS

Today is my mom’s birthday. The thing is, she passed away 8 years ago on July 4, but our family has been keeping a tradition alive ever since. On my mom’s birthday, we all go have a banana split for dinner in honor of my mom. It’s kind of a strange tradition. I’ve never heard of anyone else who actually has banana splits for dinner, but it was one of my mom’s favorite things to do. She was this little twig of a lady, but had an incredible penchant for junk food. Coke, Ding Dongs, cheeseburgers and fries, and yes, good ‘ol banana splits were among her favorites.

When I first moved to Sioux City six years ago, and away from my family, it was a real bummer because no one seemed to share my enthusiasm for honoring and celebrating my mom’s life in this way. I guess it’s just too weird to think of only having that for dinner. But not THIS year! My niece Shelby is here for the summer, and couldn’t wait for tonight to carry on the tradition. So we drove to LeMars, Iowa, the ice cream capital of the world, and got the hugest banana splits. Yum! They were so big we couldn’t even finish them.

It’s hard to believe that my mom’s been gone for almost 8 years now. She was the best mom, and I still miss her so much. She taught me many valuable life lessons, and we shared many unorthodox family traditions over the years. I’m not really what I would consider a “traditional” kind of person, but I do enjoy sharing those traditions that tie to the ones we love, and especially help connect our past, present and future. Shelby was only 11 when mom died, but this day has become so special for her, and I know she will share them with her kids (when she has them). They will then have a connection to their great grandma that they may never have had otherwise.

So here’s to my mom and the amazing woman she was.

What are your most unorthodox traditions?