A Morning Tradition

A rare, cold morning in sunny Florida

Do you have morning traditions?

Morning traditions (or traditions that you have at any part of the day) are wonderful for children. Children naturally like having things in their day that are constant. They like knowing what to expect. When this constant involves others in the family, it makes the tradition that much more fun.

We have a tradition that I began with Addie when she was an infant. When Brian leaves for work in the morning, we either stand at the door (our usual spot) or at the office window (due to the occasional cold morning) and wave goodbye to him.

Addie usually calls out a bunch of things as he is driving off- "I love you, Daddy!", "You're the best daddy in the world!", "Don't worry! I'll see you later tonight!", "Drive carefully!" and whatever else pops into her head. We never know what she'll say next. She's so much fun!

Ian stands on his own, waves, and calls, "Buh-bye!" over and over again.

I usually call out, "I love you!" and "Thank you for working so I can stay home with the kids!" or "You're a great provider for our family!" and "Drive carefully!"

Brian has told me how much it means to him to have us waving to him. He feels loved, and it makes him feel that we will truly  miss him while he is working during the day.

Once Brian drives out of sight, we close the door or pull the blinds, and move on to the next part of our day. This time in our day only takes about five minutes, but I think it helps the day start off well for all of us.

It's our tradition.

And I love it.