On Saturday our family met in College Station for the Texas A&M football game. We arrived on campus early to tailgate with some friends, who had generously invited us and a lot of others to indulge in the hot dogs they prepared for us. After visiting with friends there, we walked over to the Quad to watch the firing of the cannon. Soon after that, we made our way to Kyle Field, where we saw the new 12th man statue, and then began our ascent to our seats. As we entered the gate, we were met with several "Howdy" greetings from event staff, and saw Reveille on the big screen. Not long after we settled in, we participated in the singing of the National Anthem, followed by "The Spirit of Aggieland," and "The Aggie War Hymn," as all were played by the incredible Fightin' Texas Aggie Band. The yell leaders got the 12th man pumped, and as we looked out over the crowd, we saw a sea of maroon and heard lots of "whoops!" The Aggies soon scored, the cannon fired, and Aggie men throughout kissed their dates.
What I've just described can be summed up in one word - tradition. Tradition is defined as "the transmission of customs or beliefs from generation to generation." The word originates from Latin, and literally means "to give across; to hand over for safe-keeping."
You cannot visit the campus of Texas A&M University without being overwhelmed with the richness of their traditions, and the ones I described above barely scratch the surface. Tradition is one of the key ingredients that makes Texas A&M University so special. It binds people to the past, as well as to each other.
So today as I consider things I often take for granted, I am reminded in a vivid way from this past weekend of traditions. And not just Aggie traditions, or our American traditions, but especially precious family traditions.
We are approaching a season of the year that is rich in tradition for our family. From what we eat at Thanksgiving to hanging stockings at Christmas, as well as the seemingly insignificant detail of where in the house we place the tree - just ask Becca - some things just simply cannot be messed with, because they make up our Stewart family tradition. As we put the Christmas tree up this year the day after Thanksgiving (our traditional time to do that), we will reminisce about previous years, sharing memories of special ornaments, as the kids argue over who got to hang the one-legged Santa on the tree last year - and those bonds of family will be strengthened as a result. Small things which are undoubtedly meaningless to those looking in from the outside are dear to the hearts of the five of us who have shared the past two decades. And the one who joined our family last year continues to learn, as he is assimilated into our family traditions as a special part of our clan. (I'm not sure he's too fond of the traditional early Christmas morning wake-up time, but he's been very good natured about that!)
Thinking about what is coming with our family over the next few months makes me grateful - for the long-standing traditions that bind us together, and for those we will add in the future.
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