The Tradition Checklist

I'll start right out and say that if you are looking for a recipe on this post, there isn't one. I encourage you to continue reading, but no recipe here. 

This time of year is about many things including food, which definitely is present in this post, but this is a post about me, my family and how I see our traditions carrying on and hopefully it inspires you to create your own or carry on those that have been passed down to you.

I thought of this post when, a few days ago, I took my son Julian and my photo equipment over to my Grandma's house so I could document a family tradition that has been going on around 50 years. As you can tell by the photo's, one of my families traditions is rolling homemade Kielbasa. 

I remember when I was a kid, my Dad would take my brother Josh and I over to my grandma's about a week or so before Christmas and assist all our uncles and cousins in this tradition. Usually it was a crank or two on the grinder, or throwing some meat in the grinder or maybe Dad teaching me how to feed the casing on the nozzle or rolling the Kielbasa as it came out, but mostly, it was a chance for all of us kids to get together and play. As the years moved along and the getting together for this tradition was a little more about rolling the Kielbasa and less about the playing, I began to appreciate that this is something that had been done for generations before me, yet I didn't fully comprehend until I had a family of my own just how much something like rolling the Kielbasa means to me. Once I had kids I really starting thinking about what I want to leave as my legacy when I'm gone. What things will I do to tell my children that what this life is about isn't the small material things like a house, car, laptop, or camera; life is about family, great friends, actions speaking louder than words, and the TRADITIONS we set forth for those we leave behind to continue and pass on? Creating things that can be passed on are how we know we will still matter once our time is up. 

This is also why I take such pride in my photography. I look at my photography different than many photographers. I love the feeling I get when I am taking a photo and I know I got it, THE shot. The shot that is going to make someone smile with joy when they look at it. My hope is that Joy is but one of many emotions that come to them while looking at all the photos I take. As a father, I know how emotional it can be to have a truly wonderful photo of your children. I have a History degree in Education and I love History, see it everywhere all around us all the time, but the most important History is our own family histories. When I am on a photo shoot I like to think of my time with those people as them letting me into their family's history for a short time to capture their life as it is right now. It is also my hope that someday, years from now, when they look over the course of their family's history, they can look at the photos I've captured for them and the pictures I've taken can bring up all these great emotions when looking at their child, children, or entire family. I like to think of what I do as "Capturing History with Every Press of the Shutter". 


So as you can see I always think about what I will leave behind and that is no different than my photography business itself. Right now it's not a huge, successful business, something I hope I grow it into, but when I was looking at a name for my business, I thought about J. Malec Photography, or Jeremy Malec Photography, but ended up with Malec Photography. I ended here for the simple fact that I won't always be here, but a Malec will (at least for the next generation). It's my hope one of my children learn photography so if they take over the business hopefully it would be a seamless transition in-so-far as the business is already in their name. 

Family traditions are a huge part of what life is about. Getting together with four generations; my Grandma, My Dad, Me, and My son, documenting for posterity the family Tradition of rolling Kilbasa is important to me. It is my hope that one day I will be standing where my Grandma is with my hand on one of, or all of my children's shoulder's while my Grandchild and great grandchild take part in the tradition. 

Trisha and I are creating our own Tradition Checklist with our family, a lot around the holiday's. Two such examples are that we roll out, cut and bake Christmas cookies together and every Christmas Eve we all get a new pair of Pajama's to wear for Christmas morning. We are constantly thinking of news one's and are even thinking when the kids get older of cutting down our own Christmas Tree. 

I hope by reading my post you tend to agree and look at your family in a whole new light. Maybe you want to take something we do, like the new PJ's (we took that as well), or you want to create your own traditions. I hope you just give a little thought to what your kids are going to remember and what things they will want to do when they start families of their own. Have a Merry Christmas, Happy New Year!

~Jeremy