Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow this morning in Pennsylvania, signaling six more weeks of winter. Good ol’ Phil is a bit of a silly tradition, a signpost really… he helps us remember, in the depths of winter, that Spring WILL come.
Silly traditions can be important… they help to provide us with a structural and cultural framework for life. They connect us to our pasts and sometimes remind us of our future. They help strengthen relationships and create shared memories.
Sometimes things just become tradition just because. As a family we haven’t followed football in a couple of years, but yesterday afternoon we found ourselves craving game food. So we caved, yes we even watched the game… and oh what a game it was! It’s that strong pull of tradition. At the end of January we eat foods we rarely eat at other times… this year we made a conscious choice to do it healthier… Wings sauce on baked chicken, baked jalapeno poppers, more veggi’s than blue cheese, and homemade “Bobbing Blueberry” sodas instead of the traditional high sugar soda or beer.
What traditions can you tweak to make just that little bit healthier?
