Tradition

So, most of you know - I married an Aggie. Aggies are A-L-L about tradition. When Stevie and I started dating (almost 10 years ago - that doesn't make a girl feel old... *gulp*), I was a sophomore at Baylor, and he was a Junior at A&M. He had made it through the 'fish' and 'pisshead' years of the Corps, and was enjoying life as an upperclassman. A member of the Ross Volunteers (big, big deal to those of you who don't know much about A&M or the Corps), he asked me to the RV Ball as our first 'real' date. I had asked him up to Waco for a viewing of me, dressed as a man (ha!), performing in All University Sing with my sorority just about a week before he showed up on my apartment doorstep in his dress whites, a single red rose in hand. I tell you what... God knows everything. Everything. And one thing I know in my life story is that I would have transferred to A&M that year if they had had a Nursing program. (They have one now!) But it was not meant for me to transfer to A&M and be further distracted by this cute boy who would become my husband. :) I moved to Dallas to finish my Nursing BSN, and Stevie continued to ask me to RV, Aggie Band, and other A&M functions. Aggie football games are one of my absolute favorite things on this Earth. The atmosphere, the yells... midnight yell the night before... I adore tradition, and I just ate it all up!

As far as Thanksgiving & family tradition goes - in the past, we've always eaten at my parents' on Thanksgiving day and Stevie's parents' the day after, so we could watch 'THE game'. Now that it's back on Thanksgiving day, we're doing the Knight-Helm shuffle. ;) We make it work. I bring up family because I want to tell you something. Each year, my daddy sits down (after turning the TV off) and asks us all to go around the table and say what we're thankful for. My mom and I always end up misty-eyed or full-on crying. My brothers act disinterested, but they participate. Then the food is blessed, and we dig in. I think at some point in each dinner since my mom became a nurse, we've heard a 'nurse story'.... My dad used to gripe about how this was inappropriate, but now that I've been a nurse for a while I think he's resigned to the fact that we have pretty awesome stories. :) That, and he's outnumbered....and I think he secretly enjoys it.

I could go on and on, but I'm interested in something: What are some of your traditions? What are the things that you anticipate each Thanksgiving? What makes your heart swell?