18th Birthday: A Family Tradition

We celebrated the birth of this boy(see picture above) on Tuesday. It was a quiet celebration at home. It was our traditional birthday celebration started almost two decades past.  A month before, the birthday boy says that he doesn't want a party with his friends-- he'd rather just stay home. A couple weeks before, he says he doesn't really care what gifts he gets for his birthday. A week before, his mom asks him what he would like for his birthday dinner. The menu: steak & shrimp(coconut with a pineapple sauce), baked potato, green salad, and rolls. Included is a cup of candy with assorted candies, at least one M& M brand. On the morning of the birthday one present is opened, the package always contains a new "outfit". That afternoon the front room is decorated with balloons and a Happy Birthday sign. We get the dinner ready and eat. At dinner everyone will say a memory they have, or something they like about the birthday boy. After dinner, gifts are opened, then come cake and ice cream after singing happy birthday (we've sung "and many more", and cha-cha-cha versions, but lately everybody sings the last happy birthday in a high operatic falsetto). We finish the evening off with a family prayer with sincere gratitude for the special member of our family. This tradition is so typical and simple, but we're glad we established it early-- its power to unite us as a family is indescribable.On this 18th birthday the power of family traditions have become much more evident to us. The early commitment and investment to this tradition, and others, has paid off and compounded in the form of blessings and family unity. Family Tradition--Just Do It.