Little Traditions, Big Impact

This essay originally appeared in the Monday morning newsletter on 11/16/20.

I first wanted to express my sincerest gratitude to all who reached out with heartfelt messages about my grandma’s passing. My family and I felt so supported by all of your wonderful words and gestures. Thank you so much.

Additionally, I wanted to thank you all for the grace last week when I did not send out a full newsletter. Besides not feeling like myself, I was also struggling because this little newsletter feels very connected to my grandma. She was one of the very first readers and would religiously text me every Monday morning with her thoughts. It hurts to think that I will never get one of those texts from her again, but I will be forever grateful for the conversations we had over the past year because this newsletter. 

That Monday morning text is just one example of the my grandma’s “traditions,” which were all aimed at making people feel special and making ordinary, mundane moments extraordinary. And when I say “traditions” I’m not talking about grand gestures, but rather just these little sayings or actions she did over and over again to remind so many of her love. They were things like the three gifts she would give her grandkids when we were younger (something to play with, something to wear and something to learn), her sending us gift cards and random amounts of money when we were in college (and only signing the card with “Love” – no name!), singing Broadway songs in response to certain questions and always treating on a Starbucks run. 

I’m so thankful for these traditions because not only did they make for fun times in the moment and deepen our connection, but today, these traditions also give me the incredible gift of so many memories. So many simple things I encounter in my everyday life remind me of my grandma and her love. And that is pretty special. 

I think there is a really powerful lesson here. What if we spent time thinking about simple rituals or traditions we could establish to show love to those around us? By doing so, how many ordinary, mundane moments could be transformed into something extraordinary? 

I felt like the topic of “traditions” was especially timely as we head into the holiday season, a time that’s rich with traditions. However, like so many things in 2020, holidays are going to look a bit different for all of us this year. Many of us are going to have to adapt or adjust our beloved traditions and that is extremely hard to accept. I don’t want to discount the validity of that hardship for a second.

But what if 2020 and the uniqueness of this holiday season is also making some room for a few new, simpler traditions? In the absence of things like the large parties, the big gifts and the travel stress, there may be opportunities to establish or focus on traditions that spread love and joy in a year when we need it most.

What do you think? Are there any traditions you want to establish this year? If so, I would love to know about it. 

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