We move from Thanksgiving into Christmas this year of 2022. Holidays bring front and center so many emotions—happiness of sharing them with family and friends, loneliness for those not so fortunate, gratitude and appreciation for many reasons. Holidays bring back memories, too. I can get very melancholy over the past, especially during this time of year.
Growing up, my parents always had Thanksgiving dinner. My grandparents, aunts and uncles, plus cousins filled the length of our living room. Dad and my brother set up the tables while Mom made the dinner, her pies everyone loved included. After we kids set the table for over twenty people while Dad helped Mom, people began to arrive with more food and soon, the kitchen was packed and filled with laughter and the dinner table was covered with dishes of delicious homemade food (no Costco purchases then!).
It’s funny how when young, I took those times for granted, figuring Thanksgiving would always be like that. Instead, due to moving to different states, it often hasn’t been, and we’ve only had just our family of five at the table. That is the reason yesterday at our daughter’s house was so special with sixteen people at their table. It reenacted those memories of long ago and this time I was grateful.
It’s so true that when we are young, we always think things will stay the same.
Isn’t that the truth, Vickie? Passing years teach us.
Thanksgiving was much the same as I grew up. We celebrated at either grandparents house or great-grandparents house with aunts uncles cousins and close friends we thought of as family. Thanksgiving for me has always been about sharing and celebrating the people in our lives – never less than a dozen around the table. I missed being able to do that this year for the first time in memory. We’ll be back on track next year.