The holidays have come and gone. If you are well organized the decorations are down and you MIGHT **MIGHT** even have Valentine’s Day decorations up. (If you are like me you will MEAN to make/hang these for the next few weeks and then wake up on Valentine’s day and realize you never did get around to it). I think that often times it is easy to pack the traditions up with the tinkle lights and sparkle. We act as those traditions are for big occasions and special events. And yet, I think so many of us crave for more. Perhaps “tradition” is too strong of a word for the day to day life. Maybe “ritual” is better. I didn’t make any big resolutions this year, but one thing I am trying to create more of for my girls is routine, ritual, rhythm. I life that ebbs and flows with the days and the seasons. It doesn’t have to be anything big, and it definitely will get thrown out the window if it induces stress or guilt. But, I think, when done right, having those things that we can count on, that we anticipate give us the frame work that allows us to grow and bloom.
Our first ritual has started out small, without meaning to we have incorporated after school hot chocolate into our daily rhythm. It gives both my girls something to look forward to when the older one gets off from school. It gives me time to listen to their day and look through their folders. It gives everyone a few moments to transition from “day” to “evening”.
I encourage you this month, the month of “love” to find a ritual that speaks to your heart. Maybe you light a candle each morning, maybe you speak a prayer over your child while they sleep, maybe you commit to finding ten minutes each day to make a cup of tea, of coffee, or hot chocolate and drink it’s while it’s still hot.