Surprise!

Aw, come on.  Did you really think I would finish the demise of this holiday by ignoring it one more time?  The material world moved from a token October 31 to Christmas lights and pleas for early shopping. Even though it is an American holiday with more legend and fake news than a recent newspaper, it’s to be cherished for food and place and sleeping arrangements.  Those portions are only the surface.  The heart part goes deeper.

Food is in three sections:  those who prepare the meal (or slave depending how they view it), those who know where to purchase a whole meal and maybe even manage to give the cost of purchase to the poor and needy, and those who eat whatever as long as it is served at a time not to interfere with the football game. I’ve never had to prepare a whole Thanksgiving dinner all by myself.  Until I was twenty-five, my mother put together and presented the feast from HER kitchen.  I could set the table and once stirred the gravy. When I entered the Smith family, the turkey was already assigned. I just had to bake pies.  They were easily transported from Houston to San Antonio.  At times in some families, the meal can vary from traditional dishes, and the words around the table are still, “Pass some more of the….”

Gathering for Thanksgiving is not as stressful as when to be where for Christmas, yet it does need to be considered.  For a one generation nuclear family the choice is easy.  As exponential comes into play, decisions arrive. Does the farthest away group always have to do the traveling? What about the cousins who have to be back at work on Friday? I always picture a map of the needed area with little cars being moved along to a convergence point.

When  greeting and feasting is over, hopefully someone preplanned sleeping space. A niece of renown is the one who creates a spread sheet and makes pronouncements. Couples can have bedrooms as long as space is available.  Sometimes assignments are by sex groupings, and the next step is figuring out who gets the children. One relative told another this morning, “I have two grandchildren in a closet.”

Bottom line:  Enjoy the day.  Give the baby to whoever has the rocking chair. The people in the kitchen will catch up on family news while loading the dishwasher. Cries of despair or joy will come from men around the television. In all the history of Thanksgiving two words stand out.  The first is survival.  A group of 102 shrunk to half. An entirely different group helped the weakened settlers provide for the next year. Together they celebrated the second word, thankful. Through each year we struggle, lose, and come together again. Edward Wilson, chronicler for the Pilgrims said it best.

“And although it be not always so plentiful as it was at this time with us, yet by the goodness of God, we are so far from want, that we often wish you partakers of our plenty.”