Riverhead, Long Island.

For the last few years, I’d say about 3-4 or so, my wife and I make a yearly trip to Riverhead, Long Island. The outlets have become a bit of a family tradition for us as we raise two kids.

This year we were on a search for a new coffee table, which might seem like a simple task but if you know anything about my wife’s background and studies into interior design, you’ll know this cannot be any old coffee table. After the usual stops, which now include the Pottery Barn outlet, West Elm and Williams Sonoma, we sit and debate on budget vs benefit. Questions like, is this the right one? Is it the right one for the right price? Is this the right one for the right price at the right time?

Sure, there’s is no right time for anything. We know this. Still we have to make sure that what we haul across 4 states makes sense.

While I drive home I think about tradition and the patterns we create in our lives. My parents did this well. A loving home, with food to eat and a roof over our heads. One thing I have carried into my marriage is the capacity to shop. Not only to shop for random items but to shop for the type of tradition that builds a loving home. And often times it begins with something we get during our yearly trip to Riverhead, Long Island.

This year, tradition continues on a new coffee table.