Tradition

In a life where it feels as though things are always changing, some things never change. So, tonight, even despite all the talk of Thanksgivukah, Chanukah was upon me, and I felt relatively unprepared. No doughnuts or latkes, no gifts already wrapped, a mad scramble through a drawer full of candles. And yet, though it was late when we sat down together to light candles, it suddenly didn't matter what had or hadn't led up to that moment. We were back at something we do every year. That, too, I guess, doesn't change.
 
We can call things that don't change a rut, or we can call them tradition-- it's really up to us. For the short time when I was laughing at myself for being caught unawares by a holiday that has been hyped all around me, I thought perhaps it was a rut. And yet, when I sat down with my family and the candles (the first lit from the stove because, among other things, we didn't have matches), I laughed again. It was tradition--all the crazy little pieces that make our Chanukah ours each year.
 
And in a life where it feels as though things are always changing, it's pretty nice to have some things that really don't--things that are just tradition.