What silly tradition does your family have?
There are things that my family does that, at first, I think are really strange. A couple of weeks ago the kids were letting me know of a tradition they have developed with my wife called pollywog hunting. At first, it just seemed like a weird idea. Who hunts pollywogs? Why would anyone want to do that? Is it safe? And again, why would anyone want to do that?
Well, I succumbed to my wife’s pressure and we went out to “the spot” where we could find the tadpoles and sure enough, there were hundreds of tadpoles lying along this really rocky portion along the shore of Show Low Lake. We attempted to catch these very elusive tadpoles. But they were not interested in our tradition. They would quickly hide and we had lots of trouble catching them. But over time, we got smarter. My son caught one! We would oohhh and aahhh and be really excited over this tadpole he caught, and we then right away put him (or her) back into the water.
This success motivated then rest of us to do a better job of catching and by the time we were done, the kids caught and released about 50 tadpoles. Not only that, My 6 year old is so proud of the fact that she kissed a pollywog that she has already created a few songs about the experience.
Now you may read this and think that this is gross, silly, inhumane, or just a waste of time. But this silly tradition that my wife helped create with my kids is something that they will never forget. And I bet I won’t either.
Go ahead, find a silly thing that you can create a tradition around. You just might create a memory for a lifetime.
Dr. Emil Tompkins
Dr. Emil Tompkins is a Marana Chiropractor at Tompkins Family Chiropractic. For the last 8 years, he has provided chiropractic care to over 3000 children and families in Southen Arizona. 520-572-2596
