Thursday is Thanksgiving. Historically, the holiday commemorates the unity of the Pilgrims and the Native Americans, who gathered together in 1621 for a feast symbolizing peace and goodwill between their cultures. Today, Thanksgiving in the United States is a time to gather with family and friends, share a traditional meal and express gratitude for the good things in life.
During my childhood days, I remember Thanksgiving as a big gathering of all the relatives at my Grandmother’s house. Back then, the dining room table was oblong and could normally seat twelve or more people. On Thanksgiving, chairs were bunched closer together and more people were crammed alongside each other for the feast. There were also smaller tables placed around the room at that time of the year to accommodate us kids.
The main table was covered in food of all kinds. Bowls containing food were passed from person to person around the table. For those too heavy to be passed, anyone who wanted a serving simply passed their plate to the closest person to the bowl of food and they dipped however many dippings you wanted onto your plate before it was passed back to you.
There would be a separate place where the desserts were placed. Usually a side cupboard of some type. There would be every imaginable dessert sitting there just waiting to be devoured.
Today, families still gather on Thanksgiving for the family feast. Some families take a few moments before the meal starts, when everyone is seated and ready to begin, to name something they are thankful for that year.
So this year, I am thankful, first of all, for family. I have family of all shapes, sizes, religions, gender, educational levels, and everything else. But, having someone in all those categories has opened my own eyes to the problems it creates for each individual making me a little more tolerant of all human beings. I do not know what they face on a daily basis, just as they do not know what I face on a daily basis. I am thankful for those lessons I’ve learned.
I am also thankful for friends. Sometimes friends are there to catch you when you stumble on your way. Sometimes they help put a smile on your face when you didn’t have one and sometimes, well sometimes they leave a roll of toilet paper on your porch (you’ll have to read “The Other Side of Hell” by Jamie Lee Coulter for that story).
And, I am extremely thankful for you! Yes, you! You are the person I write my stories for and you are the person who, I hope, smiles when you read them. Whether you are family, friend, or fan, I am eternally thankful for you all!
So, what are you thankful for this Thanksgiving season?
©2024MaryFreemanBoardman