The Median Sib

I don’t use the Friday Forum meme every week because often it isn’t a topic that “grabs” me.  This week, though, it’s about traditions, and I love traditions.  So here goes:

1. Do you have any family traditions? If so, what are they? We have lots of traditions.  On the birthdays of my children and grandchildren, I call them early in the morning and sing happy birthday to them.  On Christmas Eve, we always open one gift.  Then on Christmas morning, we take turns opening gifts - one at a time.  Before meals, we hold hands for the blessing.  Each summer my extended family gets together for a family reunion - and each Christmas we get together for our Christmas gift exchange and dinner.

2. Do you think having family traditions are important? Why or why not.  Yes, family traditions provide a bonding experience for family members, and they emphasize the qualities of our family that makes it unique.

3. What traditions do you wish your family had?  The only thing I can think of right now is that I’d like to have a weekly family dinner - for my branch of the family tree - my two children and their families.  We get together fairly often, but I’d like to make it a weekly occasion.  With everyone’s busy schedules, though, that’s difficult to do.

4. Do you have a tradition that you wish was more common among the United States population?  If so, what is it and why?  Can’t think of one now.

5. Do or will you pass this traditions down to your own kids?  YES - Without a doubt!

Each week I receive an email from Friday Forum with a topic or questions for blogging. This is the first time I’ve actually used the suggestion! Look at the topic for this week, and you’ll see why I decided to use it. Feel free to follow the link and join the Friday Forum or see previous weeks’ topics. Here are the five questions for today:

1. How often do you read? Daily - multiple times daily. . . literally for hours each day. Most of it is reading with children as part of my job, but I also read aloud to children, read for my own enjoyment, read lots of professional books, and each night before I go to sleep, I read for a few minutes before turning out the light and zzzzzzzzzz.

2. Who are your favorite authors? My favorite children’s authors are Patricia Polacco, Lois Lowry, Shel Silverstein, Mem Fox, Gary Paulsen, Dr. Seuss, and Doreen Cronin. I don’t have a favorite author of adult books - probably because I read such a strange assortment of books.

3. What genre most interests you (For example, suspense, romance, horror, contemporary, etc.)? Children’s literature. Some of the best writing in the world is in children’s literature. In adult literature I read mostly nonfiction - self-help type stuff. There are only two non-education related magazines that I read each month: Readers Digest and Guideposts. I subscribe to several others, but I rarely read them. They just collect dust for awhile until I gather them up and give away. I won’t renew those subscriptions when they run out.

4. What elements of a book most appeal to you (character development, plot, dialogue, etc.)? I call it the “connection factor.” Whether or not I can connect with the text.

5. Do you buy books written by celebrity authors? Why or why not? Sometimes I do. It depends on the topic and the author. Again, if the connection factor is strong, I will buy it.

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