Is the turkey ready?
I was thinking back to Thanksgivings past, and what struck me was the variety of them all. Sure, we have the stereotype of a multi-generational family gathered around a packed table of turkey, dressing, gravy and cranberry jelly, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, and green beans, but how often  have I actually experienced the holiday in full stereotype?
 In thinking about past holidays, it surprised me to realize that more often than not, I have celebrated a variation of the traditional picture.Â
When I was young, it definitely was the full family press, with grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. We cousins got to get reacquainted, as the moms and grandma scurried in the kitchen to get all the mouth-watering food on the table warm and ready to eat, at the same time. The dads and grandpa talked football, and then ate so much that they had to lay down on the floor after dinner, holding their stomachs.Â
But, as I grew up, things changed. I have experienced Thanksgiving with just my immediate family of husband and children, to larger gatherings including some friends and family , and then sometimes just friends, or just me attending a church dinner or other gathering.Â
There have been a variety of circumstances too. Sometimes I have done most of the cooking (perhaps you can tell by my full list of what should be on the dining table!) and sometimes been just a helper. And, I have had Thanksgiving when there has been great bounty in my life, and other times when times have been tight.
Why am I writing all this? Because we all get “perfect pictures” in our heads of how a holiday should be, and can make ourselves feel bad if our experience is not matching up some way or other to these pictures. What I am realizing now is that most all of my Thanksgivings have been good, perfect-picture-matching or not. And, there has always been something to be thankful for. Maybe I had a little trouble seeing that at the time, but in retrospect, it do see it.
So, Happy Thanksgiving everybody, no matter what situations we find ourselves in this year! And I definitely have something to be thankful for, as long as I have enough of the squirt whipped cream (the stuff in the canister) to put on my piece of pumpkin pie…
Posted by Janna Orkney
Jeanne Cope // Nov 24, 2009 at 9:30 PM
This is an excellent post. We must never loose track on what makes a Thanksgiving. This year it is delivery of meals of the very poor that is the reminder of how much my family has. The fact that we have never had to worry about where the next meal was coming from, makes me so grateful.
So, may we live in a society that there is so much, that we are free of fear and can make sure that every one of our neighbors has a Happy Thanksgiving.