Tuesday, August 29, 2006
Family Traditions
We are coming up on what may be my favorite weekend of the year...opening day of dove season. It is a big deal in the Ridgell family. Yes, I enjoy hunting, and I do like to bird hunt. But the real reason I love dove season is because of the family traditions around it. Joe Don and Jamie will be in this weekend. Jamie is not a fan of hunting but she figured out early in the relationship that this is a big deal. Bobby and Julie like it too. Julie has cooked a lot of dove over the years. Derran and Ann Reese will be with us. He was Joe Don's best friend growing up and almost like another son.
So what's the big deal? Family bonding. The guys hang out in the field. Waiting on doves, cleaning doves, and grilling doves gives a lot of time to talk. The women cook (yes, sometimes they go into the field but none of them hunt yet). And they talk. And we spend generational time together as family. Most of our hunting is up at the Herttenberger family farm and Marsha's folks go sometimes. Now Jake and Anna are going to start learning what a big deal it is. Some things change (we grill them now, not fry them), but the important things stay the same.
Family traditions are important. It connects us to what is important. Don't you have family traditions? Aren't they important? What are some of yours? Maybe it will give someone else an idea about how to start their own family traditions.
So what's the big deal? Family bonding. The guys hang out in the field. Waiting on doves, cleaning doves, and grilling doves gives a lot of time to talk. The women cook (yes, sometimes they go into the field but none of them hunt yet). And they talk. And we spend generational time together as family. Most of our hunting is up at the Herttenberger family farm and Marsha's folks go sometimes. Now Jake and Anna are going to start learning what a big deal it is. Some things change (we grill them now, not fry them), but the important things stay the same.
Family traditions are important. It connects us to what is important. Don't you have family traditions? Aren't they important? What are some of yours? Maybe it will give someone else an idea about how to start their own family traditions.
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Hunting is one person's tradition in my family, but it hasn't become a family tradition (yet). One of our current most beloved traditions probably sounds the most pathetic -- and I will openly confess it was born of a single-income family with a mother who was too tired by the end of the week to figure out what to cook and what to do. Friday nights are frozen pizzas and famiy movie nights at our house. TV is greatly limited during the week and we NEVER eat in front of it -- until Friday nights. Then it's pizza, root beer, and usually a movie we recorded at some point to watch for later. It's ULTRA cheap, and we all love just being together!
Nathaniel and I are trying to create family traditions, something important for us to leave as legacy to our kids. I hope that the kids can one day look back and say, "We always...., and we loved it!" We are working on the holiday traditions we want for our family, and also have the 'little' ones like Natalie's bedtime routine with Nathaniel. She just can't do without their special time every night! Bible Stories, prayer time, and singing...priceless.
I know about dove season... Robert took the girls out last night and again this morning... he calls them his bird dogs. I love to see the excitement in all of their eyes when they get back from their adventure.
As far as cooking the dove... dove jerky is pretty good... or grilling them wrapped in bacon.
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As far as cooking the dove... dove jerky is pretty good... or grilling them wrapped in bacon.
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