It's fall. I absolutely love the beauty of this season. It’s quiet and peaceful. I find it a good time for me to reflect on days gone by and those yet to come, before the hustle and bustle of the holidays begins.
I like to be a little selfish during this time of year and take some time to myself. Something I rarely ever do.
This is when I start to venture out for brisk walks in the evening. The leaves have begun to change color and crinkle under my feet and the sky falls dark earlier, as I make my way through the path in our nearby park.
These walks are a time for me to think about Thanksgiving and what that means to me. My childhood memories swarm through my thoughts like bees to a hive. Those days seem so long ago, yet are fresh in my mind. They are happy and sweet memories, like the honey that comes from that hive.
I remember the large extended family Thanksgiving dinners where my Dad built two tables to seat 20 or so that made our table look like a feast in a banquet hall fit for a king. The plates were passed from person to person. The talking and laughter went into the wee hours of the night until family members made their way off the tables or couches and out the door.
But now the days leading up to Thanksgiving are bittersweet for me. My Dad and two of my brothers are no longer with us and Mom is getting up in age. The older family members have passed and those that were young are the older folks now, including myself, with their own families and grandchildren who have separated off on their own.
I desperately have tried to hold onto family traditions that have been handed down to me through generations. I feel like by holding onto them, I hold onto those memories and somehow a piece of those that have gone before me. They give me a warm nostalgic feeling. And I want my children to know and remember that feeling and to carry on the traditions as well. Traditions give each family a special meaning, a sense of home.
Our Thanksgiving chicken liver stuffing is one that I have mastered and held onto with my mother’s watchful eye and approval. A dish that only a kid that grew up on it would love! My mother also passed down how to cook a juicy turkey that is never dry and all the trimmings, but it is that stuffing that makes my dinner and heart feel complete.
And although our table is on a much smaller scale and surrounded by only a few these days, I find those few to be a true blessing in my life. I decided it would be nice if I incorporated some of my own traditions. One that I will share is that I ask everyone at the table to tell us something they are thankful for after we say “Grace” and before we stuff ourselves. It kind of stops everyone in their tracks and makes them think for a second. It’s heartwarming to hear what means the most to everyone at your table.
As the family circle has changed and evolved over the years, I wait patiently for my family to grow in size and my children to hopefully have children of their own and carry on our family traditions. I look forward to the banquet size table again and the coming of family crowding my house one day.
But for this year, I will be very thankful for what I already have been blessed with, who I have sitting beside me at the table and what I have to look forward to!
May you have a blessed and Happy Thanksgiving!
Beautiful blog Jen
Posted by: John mincarelli | 11/23/2017 at 01:12 PM