Sunday, August 3, 2008

Family Traditions -- Be Original. Be Free.

I can honestly say the three we have stuck with are genuinely our very own. Two are very simple but ones we repeat continuously. But the third is a hoot, we know no one else who does it AND has been a WHOLE lot of fun.

The first two are: Every Christmas Eve we eat steak and wherever we go on vacation we buy fudge. Nothing wild or crazy but each is an expectation that is annually met.

The last one, hold on to your inquiring mind, is that we celebrate Groundhogs Day. "Why?" you ask? And the answer is, "Why not?"!! It's a kookie holiday that appears on every calender in the little square that delineates February 2nd all about a furry, fat rodent who eats grasses and digs holes in yards and fields. Sounds like fun to us!!! So every year we watch Bill Murray in Groundhog Day, I search for cards and order gifts to give the guys, bake groundhog-shape cutout cookies for my husband and his staff (yes, they expect them), and receive cards and emails from family and friends all over the country who have decided (FINALLY!) that we're not crazy and they now enjoy sharing the laugh with us.

And if you're wondering if we ever...... The answer is "yes"! On 02-02-02 this family stood with 3,000+ other folks from all over the world up on Gobbler's Knob (at 4:30 AM in 18 freezing degrees) in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, to see Phil make his prognostication announcement. I cannot tell you how it was such an incredibly good, clean "americana" experience. This tiny little old coal town literally "wakes up" just like Brigadoon to welcome these thousands that pour in for a 24 hour period then quietly settles back down for next 364 days. And additionally for your edification: Phil lives year round in a wonder natural environment, complete with a tiny waterfall, in the city library which is located on the edge of the village green.

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