Today is the first day of March Madness! For us, this might as well be a calendar established holiday, because we have created traditions behind it that make it unique and my family looks forward to it every year.
March Madness for those of you who are not basketball fans is the beginning of a 68 team tournament for Division 1 College Basketball to establish a National Champion. It’s also known as the NCAA tournament or the “big dance.” The tradition of making a big deal out of this tournament started for our family the day my husband was born; my father in law still tells the story years later… Kyle’s mom was in the hospital on March 21st getting ready to have her third baby, my husband, and watching Larry Bird play Magic Johnson in the NCAA tournament. Being from Indiana, the entire family was on her bed watching with her. As an unspoken rule (maybe myth), no babies in the family should be born during such an important game, so he was delivered the next day as a good Hoosier son should be. His poor mom!
Stories, traditions… they make family units just that much better don’t they? I want to be a momma who intentionally creates opportunities and memories that my kids can talk about to their kiddos when they ask about their childhood. Lots of our traditions and experiences are spontaneous but several are carefully planned out, and March Madness is one of those for our family.
Most organizations seem to have an NCAA Bracket Competition, so I felt our little organization of five needed to have one too. The prize… a large trophy with the winner’s name on it for eternity (or at least until it rusts and falls off). Also, the winner gets to place the trophy anywhere in the house and gets bragging rights for an entire year.
My four competitors …. are all in!
The first year we did this my middle kiddo won; his first trophy… with his first name big and bold for all to see. Next was me (cough, cough – brag, brag) and now my husband and older basketball-loving son are getting a little competitive to make sure they are the 2019 Champion!
It’s fun to watch their excitement as we print out the tournament brackets, choose the teams to win each round, and wait through the two-week competition to see who deserves to be named the next “Cheatham Family NCAA March Madness Champion” (Yes, you definitely need to name your trophy)!
My hope is that when my kids are in college they will still look forward to the tradition and take the trophy full of years of memories with them… if they win of course. And if they get married maybe their spouses will want to join in the fun or start a trophy-winning tradition of their own. Until then, though, I’m soaking up the start of this fun tradition with my littles.
Even though this is only our third year doing this, I know Cole will wake up at 6:00 AM to get all of his homeschool work done to start watching the games promptly at 11:00, because as he says, “It’s tradition!” And I think Ella has as good of a chance as anyone this year to win with her “I like that name best” picks. 🙂
Maybe March Madness isn’t your family’s thing but think about what might be! Time flies by so quickly that we can often forget to pause and be intentional about the things that matter the most. Traditions are for everyone and for every family. Maybe our little family competition will be copied by you or will spark an idea for a new tradition in your family. Either way, enjoy making the memories!
HLLF – Melissa
