Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Happy Hair Dye Day!

Every month (or six weeks) Hair Dye Day is a holiday at our house. Not only do I actually leave the house for several hours, but I take a book to read. We usually order out or I bring home dinner. And we play some Wii golf.

As I was humming to myself this morning -- enjoying Hair Dye Day -- I thought about the weird things that fold into our lives and become odd little traditions. Like getting pizza on Friday nights. Or going to the movies on Tuesday afternoons. (This week we'll go on Thursday afternoon since Hair Dye Day interrupts our regularly scheduled movie.)

My son plays darts once a week. I drive him and then have a glorious half hour all to myself in the car. That's a blessing that only people with kids truly understand.

Lots of the members of my family gather at my mother's house every Sunday afternoon. It's mostly grandkids, cousins, who spend two or three hours every week, catching up, keeping in touch.

The little traditions or rituals we have actually make up the framework of our lives, the things we look forward to, the nice things we do for ourselves, the ways we can turn an otherwise ordinary day (Hair Dye Day!) into a holiday.

I'm giving a workshop this weekend at the NOLA conference. My topic is conflicts. I base my theories of conflict on incorrect core beliefs. But thinking about the odd traditions and rituals all around me, I'm beginning to see that those can tell you as much about a character!

So Happy Hair Dye Day. I hope you have a few fun, comforting, or just-for-ease traditions of your own!

susan

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