Traditions

My son turned 5 on Tuesday.  We had a party at Chuck E. Cheese and his friends from school attended.  So did I.  We played the games, the kids rode the rides, and J's adoptive mother and I played Skee-Ball.  Because of the sensory over-load of all the lights, sounds, smells, and general insanity that one finds at a Chuck E. Cheese, we never did get around to opening presents there.  The kids got tired and just about done with everything.  So before anyone had a meltdown, we all packed up the gifts, piled into our cars and headed home.

I haven't done it yet, but I need to email J's parents about one of my presents.  It's a set of dominoes that has fruit on it instead of dots.  I got him a set of dominoes for a specific reason though: traditions.

My grandfather taught me how to play dominoes.  He also gave me my first set of dominoes when I was about J's age, or maybe younger.  I don't know if he has a set already or not.  But I wanted to be able to say I had given him one.  I loved my grandfather.  He passed away when I was very young so the few memories I have of him and the things I associate with him are near and dear to my heart.  So this year, I decided to continue this tradition.  I put a set of dominoes in a gift bag with a LEGO set and a Magic School Bus book about space.  I hope that he likes them.  Later I may give him a real set with dots and maybe I can teach him how to play.  It would be fun since there are very few things I get the chance to teach him.  I think it would make my grandfather smile too.

What kind of traditions have you passed on (if you're able) to your children?  Or are there any bits of knowledge you've been fortunate enough to pass on to them yourself?  Let me know in the comments!  And I hope you all have a good weekend!

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