Opening Day- A NEW tradition...

I think the Reds have two new fans

Four days later and I'm still beaming....   Last Thurs. I had the opportunity to take my boys (WiMi) to their first Opening Day.... which traditionally marks the beginning of the baseball season.  For you non-Cincinnatians , what makes Opening Day an un-official holiday here, is that Cincinnati has the distinction of being home to the first ever professional baseball team... the Cincinnati Reds.  Traditionally, no other teams play before the Reds throw the 1st pitch, (unfortunately MLB Commisisioner knows nothing about tradition and has toyed with this in recent years).  As I had stated on a post on my FaceBook... "[it] is the moment fathers dream about and remember forever."  I don't know for sure if WiMi will remember their first Opening Day, but they will have many more to remember as I'm sure now...  Opening Day here in Cincinnati will be a new family tradition for us Staples men.  I'm already excited thinking about 2012. 

At first, saying new tradition seems like an oxymoron..  how can something be new and be tradition?  I think a lot of folks as I did, interpret tradition as an action or ritual that has been passed down since the dawn of time from generation to generation.  Actually a tradition is an activity that can be done as frequent as a week or as often as yearly.  The main component of tradition is repetition.  But please don't miscontrue weekly visits the Target as tradition...  thats more routine.  Whether or not my boys someday decide to take their own children to Target every week won't quite have the same impact as them taking them to Opening Day or baseball games.  If you follow me and WiMI you know that we have many routines...  but I have to say in their young lives we have few traditions.  While several factors contribute to that...  I am working to change that. Not so much because I want to raise them in such a tradition-oriented fashion but because of what tradition represents.  

A post on FatherAdvisor.com talks about instilling values and traditions in your children and why they are important...   First and foremost , tradition represents stability.... kids thrive on stability and repetition.  How many of us grew up knowing every Christmas morning knowing when exactly you could open gifts?  Was it before breakfast of after...   You knew this because of what was established from the first year you were able to remember and done every year so on....   

First Reds game ...Certified!!

Secondly, tradition in addtion to representing stability and repetition should also reflect the values of what you want to instill in them.  If religion and a relationship with God is important than you will probably take your child to church every Sunday, but be careful as to explain why you go to church every Sunday(or try to) and what the meaning is so that it doesn't just become an obligatory routine.  Traditions can become meaningless when the meaning behind them becomes lost in boredom, and routine. 

It's routine, NOT tradition to sleep after a long day of fun.

It's my hope that I'll be able to take my boys to Opening Day festivities and the game for the next 16 years but I have to be prepared that some extenuating circumstances may prevent that.  I may not be able to get off from work; or maybe they'll have an important test at school or any numerous of things could come up.  It should not be conveyed that someone will die if tradition is broken....  just don't let the tradition die.  That's what's important. 



Thanks for reading,

rEDs Fan Dad