I love Thanksgiving. I know we don’t get gifts and there’s no candy associated with it, but I just love it. I love the delegation of cooking duties, and the cooking frenzy that follows. I love the unapologetic plethora of desserts (My Uncles brother brings the biggest plate of baklava you’ve ever seen). I love that Thanksgiving has no religious affiliation, so it’s good for everyone, with the possible exception of American Indians. My family is a religiously diverse group. We have Jews, Muslims, Catholics, and Christians; mostly nonpracticing, this is the one holiday that is all inclusive, we can all be thankful for our blessings. But mostly, I like that we sit down with our family and are grateful for each other.
In my family my Uncle gives a short speech before we eat. (It’s his house and he is the oldest male, patriarchy is alive and well.) In it he usually list things, as a family, we are grateful for, marriages, babies, graduations. It is a great feeling to be in the speech. I loved it when my husband was welcomed to the family in the speech and years later when my daughter was. He usually says something about the family members who have passed, and in that way they are there with us. I feel so connect in these moments, knowing I am part of a tribe.
After all the leftovers have been pack away and the last piece of baklava devoured, we return to our lives. Knowing that we are loved and, if not understood, at least excepted by this clan. For me Thanksgiving is about family, in all it’s variations, I can’t think of anything to be more grateful for.
In my family my Uncle gives a short speech before we eat. (It’s his house and he is the oldest male, patriarchy is alive and well.) In it he usually list things, as a family, we are grateful for, marriages, babies, graduations. It is a great feeling to be in the speech. I loved it when my husband was welcomed to the family in the speech and years later when my daughter was. He usually says something about the family members who have passed, and in that way they are there with us. I feel so connect in these moments, knowing I am part of a tribe.
After all the leftovers have been pack away and the last piece of baklava devoured, we return to our lives. Knowing that we are loved and, if not understood, at least excepted by this clan. For me Thanksgiving is about family, in all it’s variations, I can’t think of anything to be more grateful for.
I've included a picture of my daughters first thanksgiving with my grandmother (age 100) at her last.
4 comments:
What an awesome photo! So sweet. I love it. :)
Me too. My grandmother loved it. I wish they could have gotten to know one another.
Thanks for the comment!!
That was awesome Elise. Crying over here.
It is a great holiday that everyone can partake in. To bad Christmas dominates everything during this time of the year. You can thank people like Don Draper for that.
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