In a family way

While I was watching Gilmore Girls today, I was reminded of family traditions and routines and left to ponder what stuck. What will I pass on?

Weekends always began in much the same way at my house growing up. As we got ready for bed on Friday nights, I remember my mom and my grandmother would always sit around the kitchen table in their floral and velour dressing gowns clipping coupons and compiling the week's grocery list. Sometimes I would join them at the table, listening to them gently argue over whether we needed eggs.

Saturday mornings were usually all about sleeping in for me. While I slept, they would get up at the ungodly hour of 6 or 7am and head to the grocery store. I always got woken up as they were leaving the house with the command to be up and ready to go when they returned. Once all of the new groceries were unloaded and packed away in our cabinets, shopping day could commence! First stop was always the Sunset Mall where we would methodically walk down one side and back up the either. J.C. Penney and Dillards were always stops during our strolling. We also made sure to go in Claires (I come from a family of serious earring whores). Our mall escapades usually ended around noon and was followed by lunch at a fine San Angelo establishment like Chick-fil-a. Post-lunch usually entailed errand type shopping where we would hit up both Wal-Mart and Target.

Have I continued these weekend traditions now that I live on my own? Not really. I'm a horrible grocery shopper and have rejected most of that kind of domesticity. And the mall? I think I must have wore myself out on malls during my younger years because my current mall philosophy is akin to a man looking to get his rocks off with a $2 hooker. Get in-get out-move on. Fall reminds me of one family tradition that has finally caught on in my world. Getting all holiday-centric and crafting it up. Halloween was always popular at my house. My mom would plan out our costumes and ensure there were seasonal goodies to deliver to my class. Now that I'm older it's me who's planning my own costumes and tooling around online for ideas to spook up the holiday.

Any traditions you're carrying on?