Sláinte! Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Did you know that if you don’t wear green, you risk getting pinched by a leprechaun? At least, that’s where the tradition of wearing green comes from, according to National Geographic Kids.

As today is filled with Irish culture in celebration of St. Patrick’s Day, I also wander into thoughts about my own traditions, and the ones we pass along in our family. 

Traditions We Carry Forward

My husband and I are from different cultures and different family backgrounds. Sometimes I find myself wondering how traditions take shape in our home. Which ones do we carry forward? Which ones blend together? And which ones simply fade away over time?

In many ways, our boys are growing up with a mixture of both. Some traditions overlap naturally, while others sit side by side, each reflecting a different piece of where we came from.

The Small Traditions That Shape Us

When I think about the small traditions I grew up with, one always stands out.

Every holiday, my mom would leave something small for my younger brother and me. Either a little candy or a little stuffed animal, and always a card. It was never big, but it was always there. 

As I’ve gotten older, I’ve realized how those small gestures shaped more than just our celebrations. 

I remember one year my husband talking about the day our son might receive Valentines from classmates. It made me pause for a moment. When I was little, I don’t remember looking for that kind of validation from other kids.

Yes, I had childhood crushes like anyone else and wanted them to like me. But before the school day had even started, there was already a small surprise waiting for me on the table at home.

Looking back, I realize those little moments quietly told a story I didn’t fully recognize at the time.

They said: you are already loved.

That small tradition built something steady underneath my childhood. Something that made outside validation feel less necessary, because belonging had already been established at home.

It’s a tradition I’ve chosen to continue with my own kids.

Not because it’s required. Not because it’s the “right” way to celebrate. But because I’ve seen how something small and consistent can quietly shape the way we see ourselves.

The Stories Beneath Our Traditions

And that’s where traditions become something more than habits.

They become stories.

Stories about what love looks like.
Stories about what matters.
Stories about what we believe about ourselves and the world around us.

On a day like St. Patrick’s Day, when people talk about luck, I sometimes wonder how much of what we call luck is really the collection of small things we were taught to carry.

The traditions we inherited.
The beliefs we absorbed.
The quiet messages that shaped how we move through the world.

Noticing the Stories We Carry

Some of those stories serve us well.
Others we outgrow.
Some we have to heal from. 

But many of them live so quietly in the background that we rarely stop to notice them at all.

And maybe that’s the invitation this time of year offers.

Not to change every belief. Not to question every tradition.
But simply to pause and notice the stories we’ve been carrying.

Because sometimes the most meaningful ones began with something as small as a card left on the table.

So today, I’m curious:
What’s one belief or story you’ve carried with you that still feels worth holding onto?

It can be something small. Sometimes those are the ones that stay with us the longest.

From my road to yours, happy wandering.