It's Tradition!

Have you ever seen The Fiddler On The Roof? In the beginning of the movie, Tevye is talking about traditions that have been in his family for years. I love the part where he says, "You may ask, 'How did this tradition start? I'll tell you.'" As he leans his hands and chin on his milkcan contemplatively, you expect him to make a grand statement, but all he says is, "I don't know."

Each President's Day, my church holds its own tradition of sorts: renting a rollar-skating rink for three hours where the whole church can come and rollar-skate to Christian music! You may ask, how did this tradition start? Well, like Tevye, I must say, "I don't know!"

But it is tradition...

• ... for it to rain on President's Day (What a good day to hold an indoor activity!).
• ... for the main highway used to travel to the skating rink to be cloggged with people coming home from their own extended weekend.
• ... to trip over the young kids as they learn to skate:o).
• ... to play the four corners game and the limbo.
• ... to get a couple of blisters on the feet.
• ... to be tired and wonder why I even put on a pair of skates.

This is the one activity that is faithfully done each year... in fact, my sister-in-law (who now lives in Indiana) introduced me to the girl who would become my best friend all through my high school years at the rink 11 years ago. So it's tradition for my friend and me to laugh now as we remember that first infamous question: "Is it Anne with an 'e'?" I had never watched Anne of Green Gables before (of course I've since seen it... numerous times:o)), so I had no idea what she was talking about! That memory has now become tradition.

So tradition is what took me up to the rink yesterday. Lord willing I will be in Thailand next year at this time, and I don't think they have rollar-skating rinks, so tradition won out this year; and the blisters are just a little reminder of the good time that was had:o).