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Of course, if the grandparents
live hundreds or thousands of miles
away, yo u can't have di n ner
together frequently. Bu t if they are
nearby, you can certainly make it a
fairly regular practice. Even if they
are a great distance away, all is not
los
t.
Another great old-fashioned tra–
dition used to be getting t he
extended family-the entire fami–
ly: the brothers and sisters and all
the cousins-together once a year
or every other year. There is noth–
ing like it.
We in the Western world live in
very mobile societies where people
move often. Sometí mes t hese
moves are hundreds or sometimes
thousands of m il es. When such
moves happen, the c hildren grow
up without any sense of stability.
This separati ng of families has
created a whole generation who
don' t know "who they are."' When
you grow up under the influence
of you r parents and your grand–
parents, there is little doubt of
who you are. l f you have a quick
temper as you r grand father did,
bies, you wi ll know for sure where
you got you r voice.
T he knowledge of one's family
heritage seems to be missing in so
many families today. Grandpa may
have been forced into early retire–
ment whi le he still had years of
product ivity left in h im. Perhaps he
died prematurely from the lack of
purpose and inactivity. Like as not
Grandma was put into a rest home
to rock away her final years of tife
in boredom. What a t ragedy! And
all the t ime they could have helped
so much.
Don't Jet the opportunity for
you r child ren to know and lave
their grandparents go by. Plan a
fami ly reunion as soon as it is prac–
t ica!. If the grandparents are not
living, make ita practice to visit the
cemetery where they are buried.
Tell the children stories abou t their
grandparents and the "good old
days." You'll be surprised at the
greater sense of identity it gives
them.
l nstead of positive traditions, do
you know what families in today's
society have? Nontraditions. What
sat around the table. Mom pre–
pared a hearty meal of cooked cer–
eal, toast from homemade bread,
fresh fru it, scrambled eggs and a
hamburger patty. Dad outlined the
day's chores. That was a t radition.
A nontradi t ion is quite the oppo–
site. Today, Dad probably grouches
his way through the morning pre–
paring to fight the traffic jams. He
may or may not bolt down a cup of
coffee and a piece of toast.
Where's Mom? S he may have a
job of her own and hurries through
the blow d ryer and hair curlers to
be ready for her ride to work.
And the children? Left to them–
selves, thcy take the easy way out
and gobblc down a bowl of pre–
sweetencd co ld cereal. That 's
breakfast. That's hardly conducive
to the kind of bonds that build
strong family ties.
And lunch these days is no mem–
orable occasion either.
lt
is usually
caten by each member of the fami–
ly separately. Dad eats lunch on the
job. The c hildren eat lunch at
school. And Mom perhaps at home
with the babies or at work.
T hat's what we mean by a
non–
tradition.
Nothing of lasting value
comes out of this life-style. There is
nothing here to pass on to the next
generation. No positive family rela–
tionships are built.
Dinner Together
Today cveryone seems to be so
busy. All the members of the fami–
ly are involved in so many activi–
t ies. W ith school, work, play and
television- is it any wonder mem–
bers of a family can seldom be
together at the same time?
Usually there is only one occa–
sion during the day when the entire
family is in one place at one time.
~
This is the
evening mea/.
And this
~
mealtime
at least
ought to be fam–
~
ily time. But what do we see? A
In many countries it is considered
essential
that all the family be
seated a t the dinner table together . Here a meal
represents far more than just food and nutrition.
It
is a t ime
for family fellowship, conversation and enjoyment.
trend toward the no-cook-eat-in–
front-of-the-television idea. City
boulevards are ablaze with signs
beckoning the customer to stop in
and carry ou t a quick, al ready pre-
pared meal. Society seems geared
to the eat-on-the-r un syndrome.
Snack shops, sandwich stands,
drive-in restaurants have greatly
proliferated.
you' ll know it if you saw him yell
at the cow when she kicked over
the pail. 1f you have a fine voice
for si nging, you well may have
inher ited it from you r grandmoth–
er. If you heard her singing Julia-
October 1984
are nontraditions? Let me give you
an example.
The typical Western breakfast.
Years ago when societies were
mainly agrarian, breakfast was
quite an affair. T he entire family
People in today's fast-moving
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