Tradition might be one of my favorite things. I love traditions. They make my world go round. I have traditions for everything. And it takes very little for me to create a new tradition. Seriously, I could like doing something one time, and it is immediately a tradition…. That I will uphold for the rest of my life. The more I write this, the more I’m thinking this is solely an autistic habit creation thing… But I’m gonna stick with calling this… tradition! And let everyone believe it’s just a cute quirk of mine.
We love Starbucks.
It’s a cathedral. This caption will make sense shortly.
Please don’t get “tradition” mixed up with “traditional.” If I call something “traditional,” that is very much a bad thing. If I’m calling something traditional, I’m being polite in front of people I don’t trust. Whatever it is is likely rooted in heteronormativity, the patriarchy, capitalism, or something generally shitty.
Traditions, though, are lovely and often little things that bring me joy. I have so many. So, so many. I’m only going to share eleven that are all over the place in importance. But I’m not going to tell you which ones are the important ones and which are not. Also some have been practiced for decades and others a year. Just know, if I ever rope you into a tradition, you’re stuck with it for life. So take part wisely.
Every time Dylan drives me to the airport, we get Velvet Taco. Every time he picks me up from the airport late at night, we get Waffle House. This tradition does not go both ways. It’s only when I’m the one flying.
Marshmallows with a little bit of hot chocolate and cinnamon rolls with Christmas music while opening presents on Christmas morning.
Dumplings whenever I’m sick or extra-spicy sad.
Getting a Starbucks I got to a new state/place. There are limits and terms to this agreement, but there is a state cup for everywhere I’ve been.
Matching outfits on trips. I rarely travel with people, but when I do, there are coordinating outfits and a lot of photos. Alex has been on the receiving end of this tradition more than anyone. Although, Amanda is a fast second.
Lighting a candle in every cathedral I go into. I’m not religious.
Going for a swing on a swing set late at night when I’m sad and can’t sleep. Extra awesome when it’s a cold winter night and the stars are clear.
Photoshoots for absolutely no particular reason other than… I can.
Birthday tattoos.
Mommy-Doggy ice cream cones every time we go to the vet.
Throwing trash in the backseat of my car and yelling “ROADTRIP!” We do not need to be on a roadtrip. We will pick up immediately.
There’s just something about a sleigh and a Christmas tree that makes me happy. | Standing in Von Maur at Valley West Mall in Des Moines. | These BCBGeneration Pumps are the literal best!!!
Christmas was one month ago. The holiday season has passed. I’m finally going through all the pictures I took over the holidays and finishing reading my Christmas list. I was so busy traveling, moving, and working during the first three weeks of January, so pretty much nothing else was accomplished. I had planned on writing a post about my favorite holiday traditions before Christmas. I failed. So here it is a month later. Let the spirit live on!
I have spent every holiday season in the Midwest – either Iowa or Chicago – outside of the Christmas of 1999. I’m big on traditions. I like them. They make me happy. Of course traditions have changed and varied over the years along with where and who I spend them with. I’m gonna talk about the traditions I have in my hometown with my family.
Von Maur is the Macy’s of Iowa. At least, I think it is. It’s a high end department store with several locations around Iowa. My favorite location – I have been to many – is at Valley West Mall in Des Moines. It’s two floors full of pretty things. The decor has not changed at all in my life time, but that doesn’t mean it’s not luxurious. Personally, I think their dedication to Christmas decorations is what everyone should aim for. In the center of the ground floor between the two escalators, a tree is set up every Christmas. A black grand piano is always there along with couches and chairs for shoppers to rest their feet. Growing up, my family would always go to Von Maur to sit and listen to the pianists play Christmas tunes. They were almost always elderly and so very kind. More than anything, they were phenomenal pianists. I still love listening to them play. This past year, I was in Iowa for Christmas, so I took myself and Dylan on a mini shopping spree to Von Maur and listened to the Christmas carols.
As Des Moines has changed over the years, I have started going to the East Village more and more. I now love heading there at Christmas time because it looks so beautiful covered in snow. This past year, there was no snow. Not only the was the wind bitter, but so was I.
Christmas Eve in the Rekemeyer family has always been pretty formulaic. I have helped bolster this formula by insisting certain things are traditions after I enjoyed it the year previously. You just can’t mess with tradition guys!!! Growing up we would always head to the 4:30 church service, followed by dinner, then a movie, and on our way home we would drive by Christmas lights. My mom used to make my brother and I Christmas jammies, so we would get to open them on Christmas Eve before heading to bed. As I got older, my mom and I started going to midnight mass at church, which is candle lit. That became a tradition after one year because I liked the singing. This past year, we did all of those things, but everyone was too tired to go to midnight mass, so I took Dylan. I’m not at all religious, but I like going to see the people I grew up loving and see so rarely now I live across the country.
On Christmas morning, my brother and I would wake up before the sun. A rule about not waking Mom and Dad up before 5 (then 6 a few years later) was instituted. William and I slept in the same room until I was eight, so we would play board games and talk about what we wanted. When we got older, we would always share a room on Christmas Eve in his bunk beds for old times’ sake. Although the no waking Mom and Dad up rule went out the window when we were teenagers because they didn’t have to worry about it. We’d have breakfast and hot cocoa in front of a fire while opening presents. We would open them one at a time, William went first because he was the youngest, then me, then Dad, then Mom, and back to William. It was great fun. Christmas lunch always varied in size depending on if people needed people to spend it with, and we’d finish the day with Christmas movies in our jammies by the fire.
This past year, nothing changed much. William and his wife stayed at my parents’ house on Christmas Eve and I teased them I would sleep in between them with their dog Frank. I didn’t, but I thought about it. Beau stole my breakfast, which was the last piece, so I gave her a stern talking to. We opened presents and hung out by the fire. A few people came over for lunch, and we finished the day with Christmas movies.
Things don’t change much on Christmas for me. I like progress and change in every other part of my life, but the consistency and traditions are something I crave at the holiday season. As I get older and have more money in my pocket, things will start to shift, but for now as the poor twenty-something I am, this is good.
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