Traditions

Happy First of July!  

No, I'm not getting confused with our Independence Day.  I'm just wishing everyone a Happy First of the Month.  It's something that my Mom and I used to do on the morning of the first day of each month.

Mom:  "Good morning, Peanut."  (Peanut and Rosebud were my Mom's nicknames for me.)
Me:  "Good morning, Mom."
Mom:  "Happy First of the month!"
I'd smile at her and wish her the same.  I'm not sure when or why it all started, but we did that tradition for years.  Probably until I moved out and started college.  I still think of it, though, every now and then and wish I could call her and wish her a happy first of the month.

It's strange, the little quirky things our family did growing up.  Going on a family "outing" to the garden, armed with a couple pairing knives and a salt shaker.  We'd pick kohirabi and eat it fresh right there in the garden.  Honestly, I don't know what else to do with kohirabi, because even though we'd grow a lot of it, none of them ever made it past the edge of the garden, having been consumed right then and there, freshly picked!

I miss those days.  I miss the garden too.  It was HUGE!  Dad would rototill the earth, we would all plant together and then tend it until we had tons of yummy veggies!  We'd have so many tomatoes that Mom would spend a good portion of the summer canning.  We had shelves upon shelves of canned tomatoes for years after Mom finally stopped canning.  I don't know how she did it.  Having a small child in her mid-forties and working so hard around the house, all the work she did as a stay-at-home-mom... I get nothing done around here and I even have the help of our teenager!

I used to have such a green thumb when I was younger... even into my twenties.

But then, I started working more and trying to fit in having a life.  My plants suffered and my green thumb turned black.  Now, I dare say I can kill fake plants!  I'm working on it, the blackness is fading a bit, but I still don't see any signs of green on my thumb yet.  I used to talk to my plants, misting them, watering them, etc.  They flourished!  Now, I'm lucky to remember to water them once every week or so.  Usually, by the time I remember to water them, they're on death's door.  

But, then again, Florida isn't exactly the best climate for many plants.  Between the heat and the sand instead of soil, it's a wonder that anything grows down here!

Anywho, I've gotten completely off track of my original thoughts.  But that's ok.  It was a nice jaunt down memory lane again.  Do you have any quirky traditions you and your family did growing up or that you do now?