Many years ago, when my kids were both still little, my daughter had a school project. She was learning about graphs in math and had to poll people about their favorite holidays and represent the data on a graph. She asked my son, who must have been three or so, what his favorite holiday was. He knew without any hesitation – “Oreo Day!!”
Out of the mouths of babes, eh? Of course it would make sense that he would confuse Memorial Day with Oreo Day, because while no three year old would know what a memorial is, every three year old would know what an Oreo is. (Well, almost every three year old. My daughter wasn’t allowed any processed sugar until she was around three – I know, say what you will. Then she had her first brownie, from our famous family recipe. You should have seen the look on her face! It was as if she’d discovered the meaning of life. I guess, in many ways, she had!) But back to Oreo Day.
So my son confused Memorial with Oreo – because given the choice he’d rather have an Oreo than many things, especially something he didn’t know. He never had the problem of not being introduced to sugar. Being a second child, he ventured into, and loved, that world far earlier and more than his sister ever did. Life is still largely about dessert for him.
So it’s Oreo Day this weekend and we bought Oreos. We buy them every year. This year many of them got crumbled up as a topping for the lemon pancakes my son made, but we left enough to toast in Oreo Day on Monday.
We buy Oreos every year. It’s a family tradition. I wonder if my kids will celebrate Oreo Day with their kids one day. Will the family tradition continue? Is that how family traditions start? Based on a story, or a funny incident, and a whole lot of love…and then they exist and are carried on.
I hope Oreo Day continues. Happy Oreo Day everyone!
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