On Creating Monsters

I’ve created a monster. 3 of them, to be more accurate.

If you’ve been around here awhile, you know that I’m here in this little part of the internet to help you curate rhythms, routines, and traditions to leave a legacy that matters. This time of year, we are ALL about tradition at my house. So much so, that any deviation from “how we do things” can become a major issue with any one of my three monsters. (And by monsters, I lovingly mean my children).

I’ve been cultivating traditions with my kiddos for as long as I can remember. Initially, it was the passing down of my own childhood traditions, but over the years, we’ve created our own, and adapted when things have had to change. My (now grown) children still love the nostalgia and comfort that comes with Christmas traditions.

For various reasons, our tree decorating had to be changed up a bit this year. For the past several years, we’ve done two trees: the upstairs tree in the living room, and the “kid’s tree” in the basement. We recently had some plumbing issues in the basement, and decided not to put up the downstairs tree this year due to the ongoing cleanup work that’s happening. Most of us were ok with this, but there was still some sadness that all the kid ornaments wouldn’t be displayed this year.

It’s times like this when I wonder if I’ve done my job of cultivating tradition a little TOO well. My children love tradition, too, but sometimes loving something too well can make change difficult. Which brings me to my next point: Menu Monday.

You may have noticed that I’ve taken a little break from posting over the last month. Menu Monday has gone away for now; I’ve had the growing sense over the last few months that Menu Monday as it has been has served its purpose and it’s time to step back from it. And while I’ve loved creating the Menu Monday posts, I don’t want to get to the point where I love it so much that I can’t let go of it. Especially if letting go means that I’m making room for something new.

As I considered letting go of Menu Monday and what it might look like going forward, I’ve also been considering my own legacy and how best to utilize this space. In the interest of transparency, lately I’ve been letting my own busy-ness get in the way of the “why” of this blog. I’ve been neglecting aspects of my own legacy that I know I’m called to, like poetry and fiction, which I sometimes share here. Working toward what I feel is my calling as a writer while balancing a full-time job can be hard at times. It’s important to recognize the ebbs and flows of seasons and not let our traditions become monsters in the process.

My commitment to you, my readers, hasn’t changed. I am here to help you leave a legacy that matters to you and your people. I hope to provide quality content, both practical and entertaining, that will nudge you toward finding what’s important to you, and how to accomplish your goals. I’m excited to see what will flourish in the space of where my menu posts used to be. I have a feeling that it will only be good things.

I’ve got some posts coming up this month that will really help us focus on practicing traditions without losing ourselves in the process. I do hope you’ll follow along. In the meantime, here are a few previous posts to get us started on the “why” behind our traditions and the legacy we hope to leave.

• Our “Why”: The Legacy Maker’s Manifesto
• On feeling included: Power of an Invitation, Sort of
• On the importance of margins: Wide Open Spaces
• On marking the important things: Stones of Remembrance

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