Chapter 18: Traditions - 2024

"Ima, what's a tra-tra… tra-dish-un?" Beth tugged at her mother's shirt hem as Ziva tried to make the children's sandwiches for lunch.

"Yeah, we wanna know," Rivka was behind her twin with her arms folded and a scowl on her face. Her dramatic look when she was demanding attention or information.

"Me too," LJ piped up from Ziva's right side. "When is lunch?"

Ziva smiled at her baby; like his older siblings and his Abba, the three-year-old was almost always ready to eat.

"The word I think you are trying to say is 'tradition.' Where did you hear that?"

Beth moved around so she could see Ima's face, "At school. Miss Kari said that Christmas is all about tradition and special things. So, what is it?"

Ziva slid the completed sandwiches onto plates for the six family members at home for lunch. "I will explain over our lunch; Rivka would you please tell Tali and Anthony that lunch is ready? All of you go wash your hands as well."

"Yes, Ima," three preschoolers replied as they ran towards the family room where the two older DiNozzo children were playing a game on the Xbox.

Each child took his or her plate of food to the table as Ziva put their cups of milk at their places. She grabbed her own plate and beverage last and sat down with the children for the meal.

"Well?" Rivka looked at her Ima; her sandwich was already half gone. Ziva made eye contact with the nearly five-year-old. "Please, Ima."

"That is better," Ziva smiled at the little girl. "Tradition is hard to explain but I can give you a lot of examples of what it is and why we have it."

Tali swallowed the food in her mouth and took a sip of milk. "Isn't it like things that are repeated over time because they have meaning to the person?"

"You are close, Tali. It also has to do with passing down from generation to generation, such as a food, or custom, or way of doing something. An example is when we watch It's a Wonderful Life every year. That is a tradition from Abba's family.

"His mother is the one who started that annual activity with your Abba when he was a little boy. Abba watches the film to honor his mother's memory and to continue the tradition with you. You are the new generation."

"So, when we decorate the Christmas tree, is that tradition?" Anthony was putting the pieces together in his mind.

Ziva smiled at her son, "Exactly. We as a family have several traditions that were passed along from your grandparents; not Grandpa Gibbs, but your blood grandparents."

"The ones we never got to meet?" Tali asked softly.

Ziva reached over to squeeze her ten-year-old's hand; Tali's class had done a genealogy unit as part of their social studies curriculum for fifth grade. The project for the family tree had hit home with a sharp pang for both Tony and Ziva as Tali asked questions about her bloodlines.

"Yes, Tali. I did not meet your Grandmother DiNozzo. She died when your father was a boy, about Anthony's age. Your Grandfather DiNozzo was a nice man, but he and your Abba did not always get along. I did get to meet him when Abba and I worked together at NCIS.

"My Ima died before I worked with your Abba, so he did not get to meet her. She was Doda Nettie's older sister. My father died before Tali was born, but your Abba did get to meet him several times. He was a complicated man, and his story is best saved for another day."

Rivka thought about her Ima's words, "So if they are dead, how did we get the traditions from them?"

"Well, for one thing, they passed the traditions to me and to Abba. We taught them to you," Ziva explained. "My recipe for challah is a tradition that has been in my Ima's family for many generations. My Ima, your Savta, got the recipe from her Ima, my Savta and your Savta Raba. Savta got the recipe from her Ima. And when you are old enough, I will give each of you the recipe to have and pass to the generation after you."

LJ grinned, "Good challah! I love challah!"

Ziva decided to turn the conversation more positive, "Who can think of things we do as tradition in our family besides the things we've already said?"

"Our annual ornaments for the tree," Tali quickly responded. She loved the finding her prior years' ornaments to hang on the tree and discovering a new ornament for the current year.

"Christmas cookies!" Anthony grinned and rubbed his belly.

"Santa pictures," Beth added her thoughts.

"Go to Grandpa's house," LJ piped in.

Rivka frowned, all the ideas she had were already brought up by the others. Then she remembered another thing the extended family did each year, "Santa's helpers. Abba, Grandpa, Uncle Tim, Uncle Jimmy, Uncle Leon, and Uncle Clay help deliver the toys to kids in the hospital every year."

"Very good," Ziva smiled at her brood. "I have another idea that we could start a tradition this year, if you would like." All five nodded. "We could make bird, squirrel, rabbit, and other creature friendly decorations for the outside trees to share with them. I saw an article online about making garlands with peanuts, cranberries, popcorn, and dried fruit cut in small pieces. It also had ornaments made with bird seed and peanut butter or honey or suet that can be hung on the trees. Another idea is to slice oranges and apples and hang the slices as ornaments for the animals."

"Ima, if we use yarn or cotton cord for the hangers on the ornaments and garlands, when the food is gone, the birds could use the fibers for their nests," Tali was already thinking about the ideas her mother set out.

Anthony was petting Daisy; she had put her head in his lap hoping to get some of his sandwich. "How would we keep Daisy and Asher from eating the decorations with peanut butter? You know both of them love peanut butter."

Asher heard his name and raised his head from where he was lying by Ziva's feet. She looked down at him as he moved, so he stood and pressed against his person. She rubbed his head and scratched behind his ears.

"That is a good concern, Anthony. Maybe we can have Abba hang the peanut butter ornaments higher up using the step ladder. That way the dogs won't eat them," Ziva thought out loud.

LJ had been listening to the others, "Could we make treats for Daisy and Asher with peanut butter? They would have their own and leave the ones for the birds alone."

Beth wasn't about to have the dogs get a special treat and the cats be left out. "We gotta make treats for the cats too. Lightning, Simba, Patches, and Callie all should have a special Christmas treat also."

And so began the annual tradition of the DiNozzo yard being decorated with natural items and food for the outside creatures…