A tradition inspired by the toughest of times

My grandmother passed away last week and the entire family travelled home to Northern California to say goodbye. It was truly wonderful to see everyone, but it is unfortunate that it took such a tragedy to get the Solomon diaspora together.  I don’t believe we’ve had all 6 cousins together in one place before – and it was nice to hang out just us “kids” for the first time.  We had a family reunion in Santa Monica while I was in college, but as the cousins have 18 year age spread, I don’t believe my youngest cousin Russell was born when we all gathered.   We spent our days in the Bay Area together reminiscing about my grandmother and the 62 years of marriage she and my grandfather shared, and I realized that it was a shame to save such an outpouring of love and story-telling for after a loved one died. 

My family tries to have a weekly “special” dinner.  We often do this on Shabbat, and gather our family (and very often friends as well) for a sit-down, traditional dinner.  Our kids are young, and we created this tradition with the intent to make sure that we sit down as a family for at least one uninterrupted meal together as our lives grow even more hectic.  I want to add to this tradition, and also include the story-telling, complimenting, and story-telling that was shared at my grandmother’s funeral and Shiva. While it is a lovely thing for a family to gather to offer comfort and celebrate a life that has passed, I want to instill in my family a tradition of celebrating one another in all stages of living.