Traditional Trujillo Tamales

I had the honor today of being included in the Trujillo family tradition of tamale making. Once a year, members of the family get together with a pot luck lunch and spend the day making tamales.

Bobby and Michelle Trujillo, Evan’s cousin and his wife, opened their home and shared their tradition with me. After Bobby retired from his job in California, they retired here in Utah to be closer to family. I have not met them before today, but fell in love with them immediately, just as I have with the rest of the Trujillo clan.

Thank You to Sip (another cousin of Evan’s) for hooking me up with great food and greater company today. It was nice seeing Sip again and seeing the reflections of his late father in his face. He reminds me so much of Uncle Eddie.

As I ponder family traditions and their significance in our lives, I find myself worrying that I have not kept up on some of our own. I have to remind myself that traditions don’t necessarily get lost, but instead, evolve with the changes that occur naturally within the family. I also have to remember traditions don’t have to be grand and major events, that even the small things that we do on a routine basis are in fact, traditions.

1. The day after Thanksgiving is dedicated to putting up the Christmas decorations in our home.
2. As a family, we to out to dinner and see “The Christmas Carol” at the Hale Centre Theater.
3. We have a traditional Christmas breakfast with Breakfast Casserole and Pull Aparts.
4. We have special dinners on Conference Sundays, usually Fondue in the Spring and Prime Rib in the Fall.
5. At the start of every school year, my children receive a Father’s Blessing.
6. We kick off the summer with a trip to Lake Powell.
   my list can go on...

So really, a tradition is something we look forward to doing or seeing – over and over again.

I can’t wait to see the evolution of these traditions as my daughters get older and start families of their own.