Apr 6, 2012

F is for ... Fun Family Traditions

While rifling through my mind to come up with some ridiculous post ideas for A to Z, I started thinking about the things that make my family different.

Part of the charm(and horror) is the fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants nature of my family. We have very few traditions, aside from just doing stuff on whim. We're real good at doing stuff on whim.

My list of family traditions became a list of things we do without making a fuss about it.
  1. We name things. Everything. Cars. The lawnmower. People who already have a name...
  2. We fish. We're not good at it. We get distracted a lot. Although none of us have ever been hooked while another cast willy-nilly out into the water, we've somehow developed a fear of losing an eye during the wild flailing of line and hook. Like golfers, we yell warnings before casting. Like "DUCK!" or the ever popular "Watch out, Mom's casting!"
  3. I saved my favorite tradition for last: BugBall.
My parents are chicken fanatics, so we always had them and it's a long-standing tradition.
    Baby chicks are kept warm and safe(separate from evil adult chickens) in a cage -- the perfect arena for a good game of BugBall.

    BugBall Rules:
    1. Get a ball: Junebugs are best, but any beetle works. If can't find good bugs, slivers of tomato skin will do. The ball must be sturdy.
    2. Throw ball into the cage. 
    3. One chick will grab the ball and run. The running alerts the other chicks to the presence of something good in the cage, and they all start peeping like mad and give chase. They run run run, but eventually the urge to eat the ball overwhelms, and the chick stops and tries to eat it. No chick is ever fast enough to do so. It usually gets one bite as another steals the ball, and the running starts again. This is why you need a sturdy ball.
    It's hard to say why this is so funny to us. We aren't a sports-watching family, but even the extended family will stop by to go watch a game of BugBall with the Spring chicks.

    Do you have any silly family traditions? Or have you ever had the pleasure of watching a good game of BugBall? (BugBall is like pizza, even when it's not so good...)

    10 comments:

    1. This Bug Ball game sounds like a barrell of laughs. I can just picture it. Geez, I always thought my family was kind of crazy, but yours has got to take the cake on wackiness.
      -Debbe

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      1. We are a kooky lot. I refuse to accept that other families don't have their own hidden kookiness! Of course, it could be that I just like to tell myself that . . .

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    2. LOL I love that you name people who already have names!

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      Replies
      1. We don't usually give people real names, we give them nicknames. Although there are a few instances of replacing the real name with another real name. I blame dad for this one. His name is Robert, but he goes by Pete. I don't see the connection. Rob? Bob? Both those are connected to Robert! Peter? Pete? not so much...

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    3. Wow, my family traditions seem so... boring compared to yours! :) Bugball sounds hilarious. And fishing with your family sounds a lot like fishing with mine - lots of ducking and close calls, ha.

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      1. Maybe all family fishing trips are like that. Those fishing shows give the false impression that it's easy to cast without injuring anyone or getting the hook snagged on a tree branch or a passing car. Okay that car bit was a lie. Trees though, all the freakin time...

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    4. One of my favorite family traditions is the way we give all of our pets voices. We love to translate what the "meow" means, especially if it's something off-color!

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      Replies
      1. Hah! That's a good one. I do that, but strangely only for cats. I guess I don't feel as intuitively connected to dogs. Either that or I just like translating hateful cat stares. (I say this as a cat person. Most dogs terrify me.)

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    5. Funny post! Enjoyed it.

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