Traditions, Thanksgiving-Style

Time for the obligatory holiday post. :)

When I was little I could not begin to fathom the idea of NOT having Thanksgiving dinner at my Nana's house. Ever since I could remember we had made the three mile drive down the road to the farm and enjoyed the company of the crazy crowd that is my Dad's side of the family. Everyone made the same dishes each year (my Mom's contribution was a dish called "Peas Elegant," which had been affectionately dubbed "Peas Elephant") and each year Nana would say "This is my LAST turkey!" Well, I'm almost 29 and she is still hosting dinner and cooking the turkey, so I don't think she's going to stop any time soon.

Then when I got married I realized, somewhat begrudgingly, that I wouldn't always get to follow "my" traditions each year. In fact, I've only been back home for Thanksgiving one year since we got married, and that was the year my sister's son was a newborn.

The Hubby's family celebrates the holiday differently than my family. Instead of one day of overeating and visiting with family, it is an entire week-long ordeal involving lots of camo, hunting, and a serious lack of indoor plumbing. Dinner isn't at a set time on Thursday; the ladies make the food and wait for all the guys to come in from the woods before we sit down to eat together. We also have something not every family does... a second Thanksgiving dinner on Friday! No Black Friday shopping here, but another celebration of family and the blessing of being together.

So, what is my point with all of this, you ask?

My point is that things change over time. The traditions that you remember from your childhood will not necessarily follow you through to adulthood. The important thing about Thanksgiving is to remember that it is a time to celebrate family. A time to be thankful for what you have. A time to be together and enjoy the simple things, making memories for years to come. Do I miss having dinner at the farm with "my" side of the family? Absolutely. I miss all my cousins and my crazy aunts and uncles. But do I enjoy spending time with the Hubby's side of the family and embracing their traditions as my own? You bet I do!

The Munchkin is still young enough that he probably won't remember much about Thanksgiving when next year rolls around. But following traditions isn't for the adults. I didn't understand that when I was little, but I do now. It's important that my son grows up knowing the importance of family, and a big part of that is actually getting to see them! It's easy to find excuses around this time of year, especially once the snow starts falling. Do I really want to spend 6 hours in the car tomorrow, at over 8 months pregnant? No. But I don't want to look back in the years to come and see all the missed opportunities to spend time with family and friends around this most blessed holiday.

I hope this has made sense... It made sense in my head, but sometimes things don't translate well into writing. I'll leave you with something completely unrelated in hopes to distract you from my incoherent ramblings:

The "Funny Thanksgiving" skit by Stan Freberg. (Click on the link and scroll down to the "Funny Thanksgiving" audio file). It's worth a minute of your time.

:)