Reviewing Thanksgiving

By now Thanksgiving dinner is a memory, a calorie explosion many try to forget while preparing for the next.

Refrigerators and pantries are full of leftovers from the grand feast. Families were sent home with more food than they contributed. The host family doesn’t want to relive the well-worn movie of a child recalling eating refashioned leftovers for days on end.

There really is a connection between the dinner table and emotional connection. Most people are respectful of the cook even when the roast is burnt or the pie is less than stellar. It is because of the emotional connection, the heart put into spreading the dinner table for family and guests.

We have a tradition of holidays such as Thanksgiving and Christmas done in stages. It is a progressive dinner, but over days instead of visiting different houses for specific parts of the meal. There would be my wife’s family, our home and then my family. Things have changed since then. Families grow, the next generation develops its own interests and traditions. Locations and work assignments change.

And then there is the introduction of a virus and the reaction to it. Depending on where you live and your perspective, you are strongly encouraged to have no one at your dinner, or cautiously business as usual. Now, for some of our history, business as usual has had us using a community room. The family attendance was that large. So, to go from a community experience to two people eating turkey TV dinners denies the experience, the experience of why we meet.

Our “week” typically wraps up with my side of the family. Especially over the last 14 years, we have always promised to make a little less for our gathering of five or six. The tradition of menu tends to overrule our efforts for a healthy diet. It is kind paradoxical. We celebrate a holiday of giving thanks, dating back to when the feast was a celebration for making it through a harsh period, and friends from another culture who helped the newcomers learn how to plant and what to eat in their new home.

Every culture has its secrets. But should a past diminish the thankfulness that can only come from the heart?

I saw a moment let’s call it on a social media platform of a Thanksgiving dinner with all of the basics: noodle soup, meat that is barely defined as food, sliced cheese (probably a Commodities product) and sweetness just as basic. It was like buying a dinner for one from the corner of a forgotten truck stop with only a few dollars to spend. While it was comical, all I could think is for those who are facing this kind of budget, I do hope they, too, are thankful. It quickly drew open memories of meeting people who had their own reasons for being thankful.

I know people who don’t have the luxury of an overindulgence in meats, vegetables and sweets. They spread a table from what they had, making a festival from what is available. Maybe that is the lesson.

This year was different with the restrictions both encouraged and mandated. We had two local invitations, friends who wanted to be sure we weren’t sitting at home alone. Both events were joyful as family came together at a table. Be thankful for the meal you have, the friends and family you spend time with, and the time you have.