Happy Groundhog Day! But I didn't make a special dessert.

I've never actually made a special dessert for Groundhog Day.  Although I am very glad to hear that Punxsutawney Phil did not see his shadow and therefore predicts an early spring.  And I do like the Bill Murray movie Groundhog Day!



from FamilyFun magazine - these Punxsutawney Pudding Cups are pretty cute

A few years ago, I wrote the following for an essay published in a homeschooling magazine:

"We have a lot of traditions, those my husband and I have grown up with and those that we have created with our own children.  These traditions may involve just us or extended family; they may be related to seasonal changes or secular or religious holidays.  Our traditions nurture connectedness, whether it's reading the special card or wearing the silly crown I make for each birthday, baking and decorating cookies every Christmas with their cousins, or watching the movie Groundhog Day every February."  

I love traditions.  I even enjoy making special desserts for special occasions.  As I wrote above, participating in traditions with family, friends and others is a way to be connected with them and adds joy to our seasons and celebrations.  But traditions can threaten to lose their joy, I think, if we take them too seriously.  Speaking of which, I didn't send out Christmas cards in December.  It's the first year I haven't done so in at least seventeen years.  There was no particular reason.  I've managed to send out cards in years when I was much busier.  I even sent them out in 2010, the year when my dad died on December 23rd.  The truth is that I do enjoy sending out Christmas cards and receiving them too.  It just didn't happen this past year for whatever reason, and that's okay.

We also didn't carve pumpkins last Halloween.  When I say "we" didn't carve pumpkins, I'm being pretty generous.  My kids are conveniently grossed out by de-gutting pumpkins.  I don't mind it.  We all enjoy carving the pumpkins and roasting and eating the pumpkin seeds though.  But October was very busy.  Or maybe I'm putting less pressure on myself to keep up these traditions.  The kids are older.  I've gotten older too (it's true!) and more mellow.  Traditions are fun when we enjoy participating in them together, but can seem more like a chore if we feel they are just one more thing to cross off the "to do" list. 

That doesn't mean I've given up on Christmas cards or Jack O'Lanterns.  I'm sure I'll continue to carve pumpkins with my family, send out Christmas cards and make special desserts for special occasions.  But if we take a year off from our traditions, that's fine too.  Now, back to thinking about sweet treats.  February is here, and frosted heart cookies are right around the corner!

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This is definitely not a lifestyle blog about homemaking.  However, please indulge me as I include photos of some of the special treats we've made for holidays and birthdays over the years.