By Sue Anganes
Do you have any unique family traditions? I’m talking about the ones that no one other than your own family members could even guess that you celebrate? We have two that fall in the month of February, and I’ll let you in on our family fun.
Our first event occurs on February 14th. No, it is not Valentine’s Day; everyone celebrates that. Quackie’s Birthday is on February 14th! Quackie was a Valentine’s Day gift to our son, Charlie, in 1994. He was a beautiful, golden-yellow, beanbag duck with a soft fluffy tuft of orange hair upon his sweet head. Today Quackie is an odd grayish color, with his fabric worn thin and a bald head. His eyes have been re-glued on numerous times, and at one point, one eye was missing for most of a year; finally turning up in a massive bedroom clean-up. Quackie has been lost on occasion, once spending a week at our chiropractor’s office (interning I think). We all rejoiced when we discovered he was not a run away. Quackie has a personality all of his own and is considered a family historic treasure.
Every year since 1994 we have had a birthday party for Quackie. The kids love to make gifts for him (a small archery set made from matchsticks was one of his many fine gifts over the years), and we always have some type of cake. One lazy year I just bought Little Debbie cakes.
I usually try to make a cake and get it decorated before Quackie tries to cut a piece for himself.
Quackie always blows out his own candles and then cuts the cake for everyone.
The fun we’ve had at Quackie’s parties surpasses all other parties combined.
Our second February tradition is Canadian National Beaver Day. Because my husband works with wildlife management, and also because he says the beaver is his “favorite aquatic rodent” we celebrate the last Friday of every February. We construct tiny beaver lodges with pretzels and chocolate frosting. We decorate both chocolate beavers (Yodels) and vanilla beavers (Twinkies).
This is a family event so everyone is supposed to attend. There were two family members who were not in attendance this year (Andrew and Amanda you know who they were); truly, there should not be an excuse for being absent. Being married and working for a living doesn‘t count!
Teddy worked hard on his creation.
My granddaughter, Amelia, did her best.
And little Elias just liked the crinkly wrapper on the Twinkie. I think he’ll be able to join in a little more next year!
We’ve been celebrating National Beaver day since 2009. Here is our first celebration.
I hope this has inspired you to have your own wacky traditions and make some happy memories!
nyoorchnews
/ April 3, 2012Totally enjoyed this article!
Dr. Wendy
/ April 3, 2012Thank you for leaving Quackie at the office. His services were invaluable. When he wasn’t answering the phones, he was setting the patients up with the hydrocolator!
Susan Ortler Anganes
/ April 6, 2012I am glad he helped, Wendy! Quackie is a talented duck!
Susan Ortler Anganes
/ April 4, 2012Thanks! It was fun to write.
Deb
/ April 6, 2012I love the idea of Quackie and the National Beaver Day is great! When my kids were growing up (I’m going to date myself here!) for a few years we celebrated “National Nintendo Day”. This was the one day a year we went to a video store (remember them?), rented the whole thing, and let them play all the games they wanted for 24 hours until it had to go back to the store. This eliminated the constant asking for a Nintendo and gave them something to look forward to for MONTHS!
My husband passed away in August and his birthday was in September. Maybe other people have done this, but it came up in our family as a way to acknowledge a day that otherwise unacknowledged would have been painful. I didn’t want to just ignore the day, but I didn’t know what to do either. I asked my kids, “How about we all have dinner together and I make dad’s favorite birthday cake? I knew I had hit the nail on the head when one of them said, humorously, “As long as we don’t have to have his favorite dinner!” Everyone laughed, because his favorite dinner was a long ago concoction from his mother that featured hotdogs and sauerkraut as the main ingredients in a stewed up dish. There aren’t a lot of sauerkraut lovers in my family! So what could be a sad day has turned into a celebration and remembrance of his life.
We’ve done this every year since 2003. It’s a way to keep his memory alive, and now that most of my children are grown, another reason to gather together.
Susan Ortler Anganes
/ April 11, 2012Deb, this reply made me cry. It took a while to be able to reply to you. In the past twenty -six years of being a mom, I have had a handful of friends (moms) who have lost their husbands; some to disease and some to unexpected tradgedy. There were two ways that I noticed how the moms responded. One was to completely lose the ability to cope with anything including their children for years afterward, and the other response were moms, who continued on, obviously in deep grief, but somehow able to cope with their children and even minister to the needs of their children amidst great loss. Your family tradition of honoring your husband is a testiment to your strength and selflessness as a mom. I cannot say how I would react to such a loss. I would only hope I would rise to it as you <3
Thanks for sharing.
Sue
P.S. I wish I had started a National Nintendo Day tradition in my home. One day and it's over! Great thinking!
Susan Ortler Anganes
/ April 11, 2012*tragedy
I should have used spell check!
lorisafford
/ April 11, 2012Hey Sue, I love your family and your quacky traditions!!! I wish I were as creative. Deb, my husband passed away in January of this year and his birthday was about 8 weeks later in March. Unfortunately, our whole family was sick for 2 weeks with horrible bronchitis, but after we recovered, we did celebrate by making his favorite cake (his mom’s $100 chocolate cake) and also one of his favorite dinners (he had many). I agree, its a way to keep his memory alive and to help us heal.
Susan Ortler Anganes
/ April 11, 2012Lori,
You are one of those amazing moms that I just commented about. I love you!!
Deb
/ April 11, 2012Lori, I am so sorry to hear this. It will get better. I tell people, “I will always have a hole in my heart. Sometimes it gets bigger and sometimes it gets smaller, but it never goes away.” You can contact me at ddfinch@comcast.net if you want someone to talk to anytime. My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family.