tradition: a transmission of customs from generation to generation.

One such tradition began with just Jim and me watching the Lord of the Rings trilogy during Christmas break ten years ago. Over the years, it has grown to include one kid after another.

There are two prerequisites to being included in this tradition: one, you must have read the books; and two, mom and dad must agree that you’re emotionally mature enough to handle these intense movies.

Over the fall, Peter–knowing that Christmas break was right around the corner–was a reading machine and successfully read through two of the three books. He was thus invited to join the rest of us for the first two movies.