TRADITION

The theme song from "A Fiddler On the Roof" is stuck in my head this afternoon, and besides having images and certain lyrics replaying in my head (one in particular about mothers' work 'so papa can read the holy books'), I'm reviewing how many things we do simply because... well, because that's the way it's done. Tradition.

Not necessarily driving on the right-hand side of the road and putting salt on french fries, but how we handle relationships, the way our families interact, what makes us angry, what frightens us. Looking back over fifty-plus years, I see way too much baggage that I am still carrying, and more shockingly, some baggage my parents left me and which I never wanted, I am still dragging around in the Central Station of my life.

Traditions can be wonderful, stable and binding forces - but also scary, negative and horrifying ones that we may not even recognize because they have 'always' been part of our life - in short, traditions. If you were forced to clear your plate as a kid, you probably have your kids do the same thing - even if you hated being yelled at, you most likely are a yeller - whatever type of dysfunctional family you grew up in, that particular type isn't viewed by your subconscious as dysfunctional - it's tradition.

All this because a movie tune got stuck in my head.