Shortly before 5:00, I was awakened to the Mama Mia ringtone on my phone, meaning it was one of my children. Knowing it wasn't my birthday or any other significant holiday, I jumped to the conclusion that there was something wrong. After I answered, I heard my daughter say, "Hold on a minute. We've got something special for you."
And then I heard a chorus of children's voices singing along to this:
I had to laugh. Somehow, I think my daughter, Meg, got a little perverse pleasure out of waking me to this at five in the morning....
Even before I ended up with my aunt's old victrola (an old wind up record player), I was in possession of my family's old 78rpm record of Rosemary Clooney's famous "Suzy Snowflake" and every year of my children's lives, when they lived at home, they would wake up to the sound of "Suzy" the morning of the first snowfall every year.
Nothing got them out of bed quicker! In their really young years, it was the excitement of whether there was indeed enough snow to go sledding. In the later years the excitement was all about hoping there was enough snow to cancel school. At any rate, hearing "Suzy Snowflake" on the morn of the first snowfall of the year has been a Sloan family tradition for over thirty years.
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| Jonas, Sarai & Cari 2012 (?) |
I didn't really realize I had created such a tradition at the time. When Meg & Sami were really little, I began playing it, just to teach them the excitement and beauty of the first snowfall. Then I learned it was a good way to get five, sleepy-eyed children up and moving without a lot of reminders... until October of 1997.
That was Meg's freshman year at Ricks College (now BYU-Idaho). I received a wake-up call from Meg that morning as well, but that morning she was in tears. So much so, I could hardly understand what she was saying. When I finally understood that she was saying "It's snowing," I panicked. Was she hurt? Had she been in an accident? Finally, she calmed down enough to get it through my thick head that it had snowed in Rexburg, Idaho and she was feeling her first bit of homesickness (probably the only time she ever felt it in her life...) because she was witnessing the first snowfall of the season and she couldn't hear Suzy Snowflake!
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| Meg's college graduation 2001 |
Of course, being the dutiful mother I am (and a little pleased that my almost adult daughter did still needed me for something), I wound up the victrola, put on "Suzy Snowflake" and held the phone to the speaker. It resulted in some other confused children (excuse me, teenagers), waking up and wondering if I'd gone nuts because they were listening to "Suzy" and there wasn't a lick of snow outside their windows! It made Meg feel better though and she was able to get on with her day, but I then understood how real and deep even the smallest, simplest family traditions can mean to our children!
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| Sami with Dylan, Andi, Peyton & Soni 2008 |
My second daughter, Samantha, was especially fond of our family Christmas tree decorating tradition of listening to an old Lennon Sisters Christmas album. Probably because it was HER annual tradition to put on the tree skirt and dance a hula to the song "Christmas Island."
At any rate, because this was an important family tradition for her, she got her husband to locate not only the Lennon Sisters, but also "Suzy Snowflake" on the Internet and make a recording for not only her, but each of her siblings. So now they all have their own copies and have been able to carry on the tradition with their children.
Traditions are marvelous things! They help us feel grounded and feel like we belong somewhere. They're like comfort food without the calories! I'm always amazed at things my kids talk about that they see as "tradition" when to me, they were just things we did, because they were fun, or they worked. But as we approach this holiday season, when traditions abound, I hope you'll take a minute to think about YOUR traditions and why they're important to you or who made them special.
"Suzy Snowflake" wasn't a snowy morning tradition for me growing up. For me, she was a video on the old Chicago favorite kids' show, "Garfield Goose." But even more than "Suzy," I always looked favorite to another one they used to play on the show this time of year. I can still hear my best friend Lanie singin' it.... Here's Hardrock... Here's Coco... Here's Joooooe!
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