Thanksgiving traditions have changed
- col-lee-elliot-aging-graciously
- November 20, 2024
- 87
Anyone who is fortunate enough to grow older knows the more years you achieve, the faster they are here and gone. It was hardly March with me weathering the cold in the barn to plant the summer’s seeds before it was time to clean up the last of the garden and batten in for winter. It was hardly Memorial Day, and now it is almost Thanksgiving.
I ponder a lot about Thanksgiving. My memories of the holiday when I was growing up are warm and happy. At first we spent it at my grandparents’ house, the whole small family gathering once each year, to enjoy the traditional meal and catch up on news. It is a wonder to me that one small turkey fed all of us. Eating habits have changed. Today we expect to have bigger and more.
I learned my Thanksgiving traditions from my parents. Mother loved providing a huge meal with every kind of side dish she could glean from her daily recipe searchings. We dressed for dinner.
The cause or maybe the effect of the holiday while raising my own children changed things. Thanksgiving was the first day of hunting, and that took all precedence. I would not kill an animal if my life depended on it, but I do understand controlled conservation, so while males in my family spent most of the day away, I spent the time in the kitchen. Because I love to cook, I glommed on to Mother’s side dishes and offered so many no one could eat them all. One can only imagine the horrendous number of dishes to be cleaned up after the meal.
Fast forward to today. In recent years, with the family moved all over the world, I have begun to feel a sense of loss knowing we will not all celebrate together. I will not spend two days preparing a huge meal with a week’s leftovers. If any family is around, we will probably eat out.
We have done that with whomever happens to be around at the time. For me, it isn’t satisfying. There are no turkey sandwiches, no warmed-over dressing, no fond memories.
It causes me to turn to the real reason for Thanksgiving. Sometimes in today’s world, it is hard to find something to be thankful for. We take having enough food for granted, even though there are those in our own community who do not have enough to eat. We reach out and feed them special holiday meals and think they should be thankful. I am thankful I can stop at the grocery every day if I want and get whatever I want. It needs some thinking.
I am thankful for the love of family, if even from a distance; of true friends who are always there; for music, gardens, pets and work and the actual goodness of many in this troubled world.
I hope your Thanksgiving also is filled with appreciation and love, sometimes hard commodities to find.
And one more thing: I am extremely grateful to readers who tell me they can relate to my thoughts and whinings. We seniors have watched our diverse worlds change and fly by. Let us all be thankful we know how to be thankful.