What celebrations are you planning with your adopted children for the Memorial weekend? If you recently adopted a sibling group then they may not know what to expect, if anything on this holiday. You are creating their holiday memories and perhaps their future traditions with their future families by your choices. In areas where we have winter snow, Memorial weekend traditionally marks the opening of beaches and theme parks. We have created a family Memorial weekend tradition of going to Cedar Point Amusement Park in Sandusky, Ohio every year. Super Dad loves the rollercoasters. He has been passing that tradition on to all of the children we have parented over the years. We even take our current foster children along, some we are blessed enough to eventually adopt, others leave with great memories.

In fact, a teenager we parented until her eighteenth birthday called a couple of weeks ago to find out if we were going this year. Her reason, she wanted to go with us because she enjoyed it so much. She even went on the scariest roller coaster there, the Top Thrill Dragster, and she had never even been there before!


Other fun ideas include inviting a few friends, with children of course, over to cook outside on the grill. The children can find a million things to do, so the parents can actually talk without constant interruptions. Usually, there isn’t much of a mess to clean up since everyone hangs outside. If you are trying to create the right kind of friendships for your new children, Memorial weekend is a great opportunity. If your children struggle with how to interact with friends, then you can demonstrate conversation skills, while not seeming to teach anything.

What memories are you creating with your adopted children this Memorial holiday? Do you think those memories will impact your children enough for them to carry on the tradition?

© Cedar Point the Mantis 2005

© Water Park by Julia Fuller 2007