{"id":11759,"date":"2019-10-13T20:32:36","date_gmt":"2019-10-14T02:32:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.amyreesanderson.com\/blog\/?p=11759"},"modified":"2019-10-13T20:33:20","modified_gmt":"2019-10-14T02:33:20","slug":"what-joy-looks-like","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.amyreesanderson.com\/blog\/what-joy-looks-like\/","title":{"rendered":"What Joy Looks Like"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Did you know that Psychologists have linked family tradition and routine family rituals to overall family happiness, emotional well-being, lower anxiety levels, higher academic success and higher marriage satisfaction?\u00a0 Cause they have… Family Traditions are what joy looks like.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a kid my family moved a\nlot.  With all the moving from State to\nState, the one constant we ten kids held on to was our family traditions \u2013\ntraditions became something we could count on to stay the same even when\neverything else around us was constantly changing\u2026traditions represent a sense\nof comfort and joy for us. And as each of us in my family grew up and went on\nto have our own families, we find that we still cling to our family traditions\nas a huge source of comfort and joy and something we can always depend on.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

October through December\nis always full of traditions, and this weekend was spent doing one of\nthem.  Every year from the time my own\nkids were very little, we gather everyone in the extended family together and\nwe all go to Rowley\u2019s Red Barn down in Santaquin Utah to start the day with warm\ndonuts and fresh cider for breakfast. Then we load onto the tractor wagons and\nwe ride out to the pumpkin patch where we pick out our pumpkins. They also have\nall kinds of fun rides, a petting zoo, a zip line, and a corn maze. We spend\nthe morning at the barn and then we head to the nearby Sourdough Sandwich shop\nfor their Turkey BLTA sandwich on freshly baked sourdough bread. DELICIOUS!  We love this tradition and we look forward to\nit every year.  And it is so exciting to\nbe introducing my own grandchildren to this amazing family tradition and see\nthe joy it brings into their life as well\u2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Family traditions are SO important!  I know that as a parent there are times you\nmay feel that a tradition is more of a burden that\u2019s not worth the effort, or\nthat it won\u2019t hurt to skip your tradition just this once, but I\u2019m here to tell\nyou that IT IS WORTH IT and IT WILL hurt to skip it!  Kids need the consistency. They need that\nfeeling of comfort from having things they can count on when everything else in\ntheir lives is constantly changing. They need that source of comfort and joy\nthey can depend on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Traditions don\u2019t have to\nbe expensive \u2013 my favorite family traditions are all either free or very inexpensive\n\u2013 because traditions aren\u2019t about doing elaborate things.  Traditions are about doing small things that\nhelp bring you together and then honoring those traditions year after year. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As you head into the next\nthree months of holiday season it\u2019s a perfect time to make sure you are\nhonoring past family traditions.  And just\nfor fun, try starting a new tradition or two this season to add to your repertoire\nof joy!  More family traditions equal more\nhappiness, more well-being, more success, more satisfaction, more comfort, MORE\nJOY!!!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s what joy looked like for me this weekend:<\/p>\n\n\n\n