Pizza and Mythbusters

Family traditions are important. Growing up, my family had a lot of them. There are even specific meals we would eat on specific holidays using specific recipes. My mom made sure that things were "just so."

As a single parent I think it is easy to lose sight of the importance of family traditions. Let's face it, most days we are just trying to make it. But, to the children in a single-parent home, I think traditions may be even more important. Their lives have likely been rocked a bit and they need stability.

So, in our family we have pizza and Mythbusters. I have no doubt that my children will remember this even as adults. It is something that we all love, even me. We rarely eat out or pick up food, so getting pizza is a real treat. And when we eat pizza, we always have a living room picnic and watch Mythbusters. In fact, we aren't allowed to watch it (except on rare occasions) unless we have pizza to go with it. And we wouldn't even consider pizza without watching the show.

We have other traditions as well. We finally read together each night before bed. This is something I always wanted to do, but could never seem to manage. But, now we have read the entire 'Little House' series and are almost through 'The Chronicles of Narnia.' It is cheaper than pizza and is really quite easy to keep up with. But, again it provides stability for my kids. And I have no doubt that they will always remember these things as special family traditions.

What to do tonight?

I really like evenings. I have heard that other single moms get lonely at night, but gratefully, I rarely do. Once my kids are in bed and the house is quiet I can choose what I want to do without compromise. And that is an advantage that married people just don't have.

I don't have to watch someone else's tv show. I can read if I want to, as late as I want to, with the light on in my room. I can go to bed early, or stay up late. I can even watch a chick-flick for the thousandth time if I choose. Once my kids are in bed I don't have anyone else wanting my time, attention, or energy.

Maybe I'll take a bubble bath.