Tomorrow my little girl turns 11. It’s hard to believe how fast time is passing. Tonight is her “family” birthday party. Since she has four brothers, a sister, two sister-in-loves, three nephews and a niece not to mention wonderful extended “family” it can be a real event to get everyone together. Each year it gets harder and harder as the older ones move away and travel makes it necessary to leave early.
One of the things I love most about my daughter is her deep sense of tradition. She loves knowing what we’re going to do for each holiday and why it is special to our family. It gives her a feeling of security and continuity even when someone we love is missing. For her birthday she has decided on the traditions. Her family party is the Sunday night of Thanksgiving weekend. She says she loves it that when everyone is being thankful they come together to celebrate her life. Her cake is traditional,too. It’s a strawberry cake baked in a rose bundt pan filled with chocolate frosting and dusted with “snow”. But her favorite part, as she reminds me each year, are the soups. Every year it’s the same menu…Chicken noodle soup, split pea with Corrolitos ham, and white clam chowder, heavy on the clams. All made from scratch. She calls it “home made love”.
Before she was born I decided to name her Grace because I just felt the world needed more grace. So, tonight we carry on the family tradition of celebrating Grace with home made love.
Soups on….
