The Rebirth of Family Traditions

This past Thanksgiving was by far one of the best I have had in a long time.  It was the first time in 4 years I got to spend it in my hometown.  When I was little girl, we began to gather over my Auntie's house for Thanksgiving and that is where I spent that day for over twenty years.  Even when I got married, we would make 3 separate visits, but we always ended up over my Auntie's house.  It was a tradition that had only been interrupted a handful of times...and then we moved to Texas.

The first Thanksgiving in Texas was very lonely.  I really wanted to spend it the "traditional" way with food, more food and family, but we decided to stay in Texas.  I didn't cook because it was only my husband, son and I.  Plus, I had never attempted to cook a Thanksgiving dinner before so we opted to go to Ryan's instead.  We should have ordered pizza! The food was horrible and I vowed to NEVER do that again!

The second Thanksgiving was again spent in Texas, but my husband was deployed.  Thankfully, my Daddy, Brother and Sister came to Texas and we had a modified version of what I considered a "traditional" Thanksgiving.  I remember my sister saying that it didn't feel the same and to be honest it was when I realized it really never would "feel" the same since my mom had passed.  It was the 3rd Thanksgiving without her presence.  I mean, the Holidays were her "thing." She exuded Holiday Cheer. Could anyone ever fill her shoes when it came to this?

The third Thanksgiving I was determined to "bring it." My husband was back home so I got busy and researched recipes for our feast.  I spent the day before "slaving" in the kitchen and I had it all...down to the sweet potato pies!  I remember my husband saying I didn't have to "go all out."  After all, I was almost 8 months pregnant! But no matter how tiring it was, it was the taste and smell of the food that brought me close to our family tradition of sitting at our Auntie's table.

The fourth Thanksgiving my husband was once again deployed!  Yes, this was getting old!  My Sister and Daddy came to Texas once again and we had our "modified" gathering.  Our family tradition was no more and I began to accept the fact that things would NEVER be the same as they were when I was a little girl.

I spent this Thanksgiving amongst family and friends.  I didn't cook anything, but I ate enough!  I saw and spent time with people I hadn't seen in years.  I didn't allow any imperfections to tarnish feelings of joy I had.  My experience fell outside of Thanksgiving traditions of the past and I am sure that next Thanksgiving will be a totally different as well.   I learned that it was not the end,  but the rebirth of our family traditions.  Yes, it was painful to accept the changes that had come about, but no longer am I dependent upon the redundancy of family tradition to bring a certain feeling.  I am responsible for creating the experience I wish to have and I plan on doing just that!