Thanksgiving is just around the corner, yikes! Where has the time gone?
Thanksgiving, for me, is a mix of reflection and excitement. Reflection of the past and excitement for the present. As time goes on, life tends to move forward and faster each year. It’s true that time waits for no one. Bottom line, things change. Kids grow up, have families of their own, and well, life just gets busy. Families live further apart than ever before and getting together often requires long road trips or expensive airfare. Sadly, "Over the river and through the woods," is merely a song that is rarely even sung anymore. As an empty nester and retiree, I often find myself longing for long ago traditions, and I also know I'm not alone.
Memories are powerful, emotion fueling thoughts. It's important to remember the past without foregoing the future. Traditions passed from one generation to another are priceless treasures. However, traditions also have to start somewhere, and maybe it's time to start a new tradition.
This year I thought I would share some of my memories and family traditions, those I have continued and my effort to make new traditions for my children. Growing up, we always spent Thanksgiving at my grandmother’s house. My parents, brother, sister, and I would squeeze into our 1966 Plymouth, two-door convertible, and make the trek down Division Street (Now the Lloyd Expressway) to the west side of Evansville. I can still feel the anticipation of pulling up to Grandma’s house. Both outside doors were open, and you could smell the aroma of turkey and fix-in’s a block away. By the time other family members arrived, we could barely fit everyone in that little kitchen, but we managed. Truth is, we didn’t think a thing about it, there was always room for one more.
My Grandma taught me how to prepare the turkey, and everything else. At the time, I didn't realize she was passing on "the turkey chef" legacy to me. Eventually, I would be the one to prepare most of the feast. Year after year, I tried to emulate our family traditions but failed miserably. I guess you could say I mimicked tradition but could never duplicate it. Some traditions simply cannot be continued. Once "the turkey chef" honors were entrusted to me, I became the first Door Dash, more or less as I would make most of Thanksgiving dinner, pack it in the car and drive to my mom and dads. Was it a pain, yes. Was I glad once we arrived? Yes. You know what I remember most, the laughter we shared as a family sitting around the table sharing memories.
There is no better description of traditions changing as the time I intended to pass "the turkey chef" tradition to my daughter. Trying to show her how to clean and prepare the turkey, she became pale and looked like she was going to be sick. She’s vegetarian (don't ask, she wasn't raised that way), so I should’ve known "turkey chef" was not her forte; however, her words made it abundantly clear, “Mom, I hate to break it to you, the legacy is gone. This fixing the turkey thing ends with you.”
So, when you're "longing for the good 'ol days", remember that long held traditions don’t disappear, they simply evolve. I never want to forget the memories of Thanksgiving’s past but I also do not want to dwell so much on them that I fail to replenish my memory reserves with Thanksgiving present. Now, as for Thanksgiving future? Well, that will take care of itself.
So, cheers! Here's to new traditions and memory making. Happy Thanksgiving!
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