7 March 2016 #10 What were some of your family traditions that you remember?

So this one is a little hard.  Family traditions....

I always think of Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof explaining what traditions are.

Deep strong heritage 
"and how do we keep our balance? that I can tell you in one word...
TRADITIONS!"

If my sisters were around they may be able to jog my memories if we really had any of them.

We had the normal holiday traditions. 

...Like a Christmas tree, oranges and nuts in our stockings, little Chocolates wrapped in gold foil to represent coins....

...Easter baskets at the foot of our bed

....Halloween costumes

.....and the such...

Just normal things- but not family celebrations.  

My sisters were all so different in interest and ages, we didn't do much together. 

Plus, you see, 
Mom was a busy woman.  
and she was NOT a frivolous woman 
so there wasn't much "to do" about traditions. Can't be bothered.  
I am not sure if that came from her childhood or from her personality but that is just how it was.

Now the things that  I consider big and eventful and a family type of' "Tradition" you may not understand.

Pay Day! 

Now that is a Twining Tradition!

It's a biggie!     

This was the day my Dad's Military Pay check went through the courts and came in an envelope in the mail and years later the courts deposited it directly into my mom's bank account.  
We all knew when it was coming, 
we waited patiently 
because it only came once a month. Sometimes it was a day or two late... but we'd all anticipate its arrival.

By the second or third week of the month things were pretty scarce around our home.

Food, toilet paper, tooth paste, shampoo, you name it--
only left was the bare bottom of necessities!

So when the Check came, we would all jump for Joy.  
I can still hear those words,

THE CHECK CAME!!!!

The next part of the "Tradition" is the 
COMMISSARY TRIP.  
For us the commissary was about like a trip to Walmart these days.  They have a little of everything and its all pretty inexpensive.  
It was stock up day!  We would all load up into the 

Blue and White VW Station Wagon, with NO AIR Conditioning 
(this is the exact same VW SW- some people called it a bus but we like the real name VWSW)
Judy and I sitting way in the back, on top of the engine.  
Yes, no seat belts and 
yes, we're still alive!!

We would make the trek to Pottsboro , to the Base, to the Commissary and PX! 

We would come home with a boat load of supplies, foods, and goodies. All stacked in the back and me and Judy there to go through the bags looking for the goodies to snack on. 

Sometimes, we would stop for a Watsonburger.

This was another BIGGIE tradition!  We never ate "Out"

Watsonburgers ---oh how yummy!

10 .... if my memory serves correct 10  burgers for $1.00 
hahaha ----yep pretty sure that was what it was.

No french fries.  Well on a rare occasion we could get some fries to share, but no drinks.

IT WAS CHECK DAY!  and we got HAMBURGERS!
and we were in it all together. It meant something to each one of us!
Thank you mom for letting us share in that day!
but its not over yet.....

When we got home it became production day.

First Mom would slice the large loaf roll of bologna.

We would lay bread out on the counter and become an assembly line.
smack the mustard or mayo on the bread
smack a slice of bologna on the bread
(if it was a good month, we might even have a cheese slice)
smack the other slice of bread on top
wrap it with wax paper (and sometimes a baggie)
stack the baggies by mustard or mayo and 
slam those stacks of sandwiches into the box freezer just outside the garage door.

Get the picture.

 Jo was the only one that like Mayo- (remember Jo?)

Each day we would grab a sandwich as we ran out the door for school.  Most of the time with nothing else- a sandwich in a brown bag (if we were lucky)  

 To this day I don't eat bologna.

But I loved that day 
I love that TRADITION!
Proud of it and yes, we Twining Girls (and Mom) created our own very special tradition since we weren't a "traditional" family!