On Family Traditions
It’s 1:30am on the first day of 2022 and my husband and two kids are already sound asleep beside me. It has been quite a day — coming from an overnight staycation at a nearby hotel then a lovely dinner with my parents and my sister’s family as an early New Year’s Eve celebration.
Our six-year-old son had been bragging about staying up until 12 midnight to welcome the new year, but fell a few minutes short when he fell fast asleep by 11:30. Our two-year-old daughter had been trying to stay awake as well, but her temper couldn’t last and had to give in to sleep at around 10pm.
Being the only one awake, I found myself scrolling through social media and peeping into other people’s celebrations. After a few minutes, I found myself becoming increasingly distressed as questions plagued me: “Should I have prepared an elaborate media noche like all the other veteran moms out there?” “Should we have prepared a New Year’s Eve program and dressed everyone up?” “Have I failed my kids for letting them sleep through the fireworks seen through our window?”
Am I a failure as a wife and mother for not making tonight more fun?
Growing up, we were never really the type to celebrate the “eves” — not Christmas, not New Year. My parents would have us eat early dinners for both nights, as we would be waking up very early the following day. We would go to our father’s and mother’s hometowns, respectively, during the actual holidays — both were long drives and we couldn’t be sleep-deprived for those.
I do not know, therefore, how “eves” are celebrated.
The pandemic has left many of our family events more nuclear than usual. Tonight, as I listen to the faint sounds of receding fireworks in the distance while watching my little family slumber on, I can’t help but wonder if it would always be like this. When left to ourselves, would we not be able to celebrate and create our own festivities? Would we always need to have other people and relatives decide how we do the holidays?
Or maybe… this is an opportunity for us to create our own traditions as a family. How can we become even closer during times like this? How can we maximize the very few chances when it is just us and celebrate our own way? Whoever said that we need elaborate dinners, or numerous presents, or loud games and dancing to make it meaningful? Maybe, just maybe, the beginning of a new year is also a wonderful opportunity for us as a family to enjoy the peace and quiet, be grateful for the year that has passed and envision what lies ahead.
Let’s see how we’ll do this next year. :)