{friday night...pizza night}

The sky is cloudy and threatening rain. There's a nice breeze. The birds are chirping. There are fireworks exploding all around. The kids are riding their bikes in the driveway...seeing who can make the longest skid mark. My husband and father-in-law are in the garage talking about who-knows-what. I'm sitting on the deck enjoying this beautiful evening.

This is something we do almost every Friday evening...come to Paka's(my father-in-law) for pizza. This tradition has been going on since my husband was in grade school. Sometimes we don't make it...sometimes my sister-in-law and her family don't make it...but more often than not, we're all here. The kids play, the grown-ups catch up w/each others lives. What I love so much about it is the relationships that have been fostered w/this tradition.

So much life has been shared around the table on Friday's. Just a few weeks ago, my sister-in-law announced to us that their baby was going to be a big brother! Rich's beloved Uncle Francis used to be a constant fixture on Fridays and all the time for that matter. I'll never forget the first Friday night after Uncle Franci died...it just wasn't the same. In fact, 3 yrs later, it's still not the same. But life has gone on and we're still doing Friday night pizza.

When Rich and his sisters were young, their friends were invited to join the family for pizza on Fridays. Boyfriends, girlfriends, best friends, team members...they were all invited. Some of my friends have even joined us for Friday night pizza.

I want to start a weekly tradition w/my family. What should it be...Tacos on Tuesday has a nice ring to it! ;) What family traditions did you grow up w/that you're carrying on w/your family now?