Bizarre Family Traditions

Growing up with a strict islander for a parent you could say made my childhood was a little hard. All my friends thought my parents treated me and my sister like prisoners, and for a while, I kind of believed them. But growing up with a strict islander with weird traditions and habits that was way worst.

Let’s take Halloween for example. My sister and I had raced home the day before asking my mom to buy us costumes to go trick or treating. Well instead of saying yes like I thought she would she told me instead of dressing up and going out to trick or treat when kids would come to our door we would tell them how wrong and evil Halloween is. I didn’t understand what was wrong with going trick or treating.
“Mom, what gives why can’t we go trick or treating?”
“Halloween is an evil holiday sweet heart it would be better for use to educate people on that sweet heart.”
“But it’s just a holiday right?”
“It’s never just a holiday I’m doing you a favor honey.”

I bet your wondering what kind of mother would do that how you think I felt having to explain that to the other eight year olds in my class.

And then there was the Fourth of July party with all of our neighbors. Next to us were the Jenkins my least favorite neighbors with their stuck up kids. My mouth started to water at smell of the burgers Mrs. Jenkins was grilling. My mother and aunt were seating up the taco table while my uncle heated up the meat.
“Mother what in the world gave you the idea that it’s okay to eat taco’s on this American holiday?”
“Sweetie tacos are American to what law says we have to eat burgers on the fourth of July.”

“Such freaks.” I heard Jen Jenkins whisper to her sister Amber who chuckled noisily if I might say. But I sort of got where my mom was coming from Tacos were not less American then Burgers.

So one year later, Cinco de Mayo came around and what did my brother and I do? No, not what you think, we didn’t eat hot dogs we drank pumpkin soup. To our surprise, our mother acutely joined us, I think she thought we were starting to see things her way. We kind of were in a way.

At the time, my sister and I were just craving pumpkin soup. But as I grew older what my mom taught me years ago started to change how I viewed the world. Now I continue to carry on my family traditions.
“It’s almost Christmas and you know what that means!”
“Escargot!!”