Always.
The older I get, the less it seems I am able to count on ‘always’. Priorities shift with the winds of time, friends aren’t always available, that job isn’t the one I’ll always have , I don’t know where I will always live and people won’t always do as they promise.
‘Always’ has been replaced by her sister ‘frequently’, her cousin ‘often’ and that distant, twice removed great aunt ‘used to’….
Except when it isn’t.
On January 21st of every year, and now on July 10th as well, there is a tangible ‘always’ to remind me of the beauty of tradition, of consistency, of the yearning I have for some things to stay simply as they have *always* been.
39 and a half years ago, my dad brought a red rose to me in the hospital on the day I was born. I have received one just like it on my birthday every year. Always. It doesn’t matter where I am living, if I am traveling or simply gone for the day. That rose, that tradition, will always be there. It has been delivered to my work in the deserts of Yuma, Arizona, to my friend’s apartment in the Bronx and to every house I have ever called home.
Always.
Eight years ago, the tradition was passed on to my small girl with the delivery of a white rose to the hospital when she was born. Her eighth, perfect white bloom arrived yesterday, as it always does.
And as every small person’s should, my sweet girl’s beginnings will include the power of always. Family traditions have a hold on me, make me weak in the knees and grateful all at once.
What does your family do – always?
I started going first to DisneyWorld and then to DisneyLand when I was only 5 years old. The same age my small dude is right now. But somehow, 30+ years and probably more than 20 trips later, I’m still awed by the Magic that is the Disney experience.
“Eyes Up, Jaw Down!”
When your small people celebrate with a crazy dance because they have reached the height that allows them to ride the Rockin’ Roller Coaster.
When you watch your husband experiencing the same joy as your children just because he is HERE.
I had a date last night.
But you know what was ultra-fun? I was able to surprise my mother-in-law with a ticket. She screamed. And not an, ‘oh-that-sounds-like-fun’ kind of scream…. but a school girl, ‘oh-my-gosh-that-is-on-my-bucket-list’ kind of sound. It was so much fun to tell her. And then to be there with her? Thrilling. She has watched Oprah religiously for years and like I did, had nearly given up the dream of ever sitting in the audience during one of her shows.
My ‘a-ha moment’ came as Iyanla spoke to the first guest – a man named Steve, struggling to leave his addictive past behind him. A man in his 40′s with nearly 10 years of sobriety, Steve has been living with his daughter, unable to find and keep a job and move himself into a happy state of mind.
