The Beauty of Small Rituals/Traditions that Change, but the People Stay the Same.

I have noticed I am more about traditions than I ever thought I would admit.  Except traditional in the sense that I love rituals.  I love anticipating points of connection with my family and best friends.  Its ritualistic points where my brain tells me "this is a time where I can be real and authentic without having all the guards up."   Unlike the traditional unchanging concept of the idea of traditions, I love when new traditions spring up.  I think it is good and refreshing when old traditions die out.  If we are always changing, the traditions/rituals might change, but the people shouldn't change.  What we *do* to celebrate those connections should change because we are an ever evolving changing people.  It really isn't what we do as much as it is the story and experience around connections between the peopele coming together in those moments.  I have a way more traditions then I would like to admit.  But these are my favorites:

*monthy family dinner menus

*going to church with my close friends and family

*Brunch with my mom and dad

*photo walks

*Saturday yoga

*Tuesday and Thursday Night workouts at the rec. center.

*prayer/story time with the Bean every night

*listening to good music

*Storytelling and connecting with my best friends

*date nights with Luke

*Saturday Night movie night with Shyla

*Going to Trader Joe's with my the Bean to get some yummy food

*Going to KC and having traditional KC times with my urban family in KC

Saturday Morning Rituals

 Currently, one of my favorite traditions that I has come to since I have entered the "whoa, that baby is getting big" stage of pregnancy is replacing my weight lifting/kickboxing class with my anursara yoga class.  This is needed to change for my mental and physical needs.  Plus, the class is down the street from my house and in my community. Beanie and I have sort of started this fun saturday morning routine forever ago. We go to a gym with mommy,play,and get fun food afterward.  My Saturday yoga class is a tight group of the same women who have become very integrated in the evolution of my pregnancy.  My yoga teacher Leslie is so great about modifying postures for me and asking about my overall health.  This morning we worked on myofascial release.  The lady next to me wanted to make sure that I did not massage or release a pressure point on my  foot that stimulates labor.  I loved that.  I really love when people show that amount of concern, especially strangers.  I think that is the spirit of yoga lived out every week in this class. It's a great community of women. We stretched, did active primal movements, myofascial release, and did deep deep stretching with the straps.  My body feels so good!!!  Afterwards, I picked Beanie up from the childcare center and we ate hummus, pita chips, and organic chocolate milk as she pointed to the people swimming in the pool.  I love these routines.  She loves them too.  Then we came home and took a nap together in new big girl bed.

Leaf Walk/Bakery Walks/Neighborhood Walks
Another ritual that Shyla and I have together on Saturdays are our neighborhood walks.  We walk to Foundation Grounds and eat lunch or eat some sort of pastry that Luke has created.  Shyla loves these walks.  She even stops the same places like Foundation Grounds and Vom Fass to see all of Luke's co-workers.  Today we went on a leaf walk and took a crock pot down to Luke at work.  She absolutely LOVES saying hi to everyone in the neighborhood.  We stopped at Foundation Grounds and ate lunch on the way home.  I love that Shyla is beginning to love rituals just like me. When I say walk on Saturdays, she gets really excited and gets her shoes and says "go, go, go."

Sunday Rituals
Sunday rituals are a think unto themselve that I will highlight in another blog.  But in a nutshell there is nothing I love more then waking up, making a really great breakfast, drinking great coffee, and going to church at 10:45 with Shyla and Luke.  I will dig deeper on this on my next post.  But today is Saturday and I will focus on this day's routine today.  Saturdays are mommy and Shyla days right now (soon to be Mommy, Shyla, and Asher days in the nearER future).

Here the some photos from that walk: