Every year, my dad plans a reunion with his (large) family to come to our house, go apple picking and eat a lot of food. This has been a tradition that my family has been doing for as long as I can remember. Every year, my dad and I go to the orchard and pick apples so that my brother and I can bake an apple pie. We’d always slice the apples just thin enough so that they would still have a little bit of a crunch after they were baked. By the afternoon, most of my dad’s six siblings and their children and their children’s children would arrive to my house. My Aunt Sue bringing her amazing, buttery, rice pilaf, and my Uncle Joe brining his amazing chips and homemade dips. My brother and I would spend the rest of the day playing with our many cousins. Every year, apple picking is something I look forward to.
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| Photo by Jeff Kubina |
This year, my brother was at college, and I was too busy to bake an apple pie. Three of my dad’s siblings have retired to Colorado, Oregon, or Florida, and were unable to attend. My Aunt Sue couldn’t make her rice pilaf, and Uncle Joe couldn’t come at all. The cousins who were my age left for college along with my brother, leaving just me to watch over my little cousins alone.
This year really showed me how much things have changed since I was a kid. Although I’m glad to be growing up, there are parts of my life that I don’t want to grow out of.
(Disclaimer: I don't mean this in a bad way at all.) This post made me kind of sad. Which is ok, and kuddos to you for getting me to feel that way. I think as we grow up and our lives get busier it can be very hard to keep up with traditions and this is a rather sad thing. I know that, personally, the topic and idea of growing up and having the world around me change is definitely a sensitive one (I'd love to be 10 years old again!) and I felt that you subtlety addressed it in your post.
ReplyDeleteI also like the tradition that you guys have, it sounds like a really fun one!
I have realized that so much lately, especially now that it is fall. I use to beg to stay up past 9 to watch my favorite classic halloween movies (Halloween Town) and my saturdays were spent making caramel apples or carving pumpkins. However, now I feel like I don't even have time to relax. It's sad looking back at childhood traditions and though I may still want to do them, there is no longer any time! Between school, homework and after school activities, the small things I use to love and time with family seem less important.
ReplyDeleteThis puts our senior year in a new light, everyone is so excited to finish our high school careers and move on to college but none of us think about how this is the last time we will ever be home with our families. All the little things that make our families special, all the traditions and holidays that we spend with them will all be different next year, in one way or another. I really liked the way this passage made the reader feel nostalgic about things while we still have time to enjoy them for the rest of the year.
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