When I was growing up, my favorite and most memorable memories of my childhood were of things that we did every year. The "traditions" in my house weren't formal traditions but just things that happened on a routine basis and I would always look forward to them. One of my favorites was going berry picking in the summer and bringing back bowls and bowls of blackberries for my grandmother to bake into pies, tarts, and sometimes jelly. Another favorite was going to baseball games with my dad. I was the tomboy and much more into sports than my older brother. So, every spring, my dad would get season tickets to the AA league baseball games and we would go to as many games as we could all summer long. I can still remember the smells and the view of the field from our seats.

I decided that this year for Father's Day, I am going to start a tradition. Instead of me buying a gift for Doug and saying it is from the kids, I want there to be a meaningful exchange taking place. Today, I helped Gavin write a list of things he loves about his daddy. At first I asked Gavin what he loved most about his daddy or things that his daddy does that makes him smile. He didn't really understand since the first thing Gavin said was, "He puts letters on the refrigerator." as he played with his magnetic letters. I helped Gavin understand what kinds of things he might want to have me write on the list and he was off and running! He came up with all of the items on the list! After finishing the list, I wrote the year on the corner and the title at the top. Then it was placed into a glass jar with a lid. I also put empty white envelopes into the jar.

After Doug gets to read his list of things that Gavin loves most about him, Doug will then write a letter to Gavin. The letter may include a couple of Doug's favorite things that they do together, what he loves most about him, and what he remembers most about fatherhood this year. Both the letter and Gavin's list will go into the envelope labeled with the year, and then into the jar. My hope is that this is a tradition we will continue every year for Father's Day. Next year when Joey is able to help write his list we will get him a similar container for his letters too. One day, when the boys grow up and become fathers themselves, we will gift the jars to them for their first father's day.

It is my hope that they will so much enjoy reading their lists and letters from their Daddy, that they will want to continue the tradition with their children too. If we ever have a baby girl I would like to do the same with her but then the jar would go to her husband on his first Father's Day.

Ties, barbecue tools, electronics, and other manly gifts are neat but I think that this tradition is really more about celebrating the gift of fatherhood. I am really excited to share this gift with Doug and I hope that he is excited about it as I am! I love traditions!





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