THANKFULNESS (looking back on my Thanksgiving)

When I was a kid, we gathered as an extended family for major holidays as well as once or twice a month for birthdays. My family is very musical so when the food was ready for any occasion, we stood and sang "grace," my two aunts usually leading. Not only did we sing, we usually sang in harmony.

At Thanksgiving, however, we would also go around and give something we were thankful for: family, health, friends. I don't remember anyone ever saying that they were thankful for anything materialistic.

Our extended family celebrations fell to extinction as my generation's family size grew and my mother's and grandmother's have passed away. The last few years have been a transition from old traditions to new.

With my two boys on different schedules and my husband an OTR driver, we found that a Thanksgiving breakfast at Cracker Barrel. Nine of us gathered and shared food and conversation, and we actually took family pictures by the fireplace.

So, with that in mind, what am I thankful for? Lots of things.

*a loving husband who is also my friend
*two children who have grown to love and respect each other (True, there were times I thought they would never talk to each other again.)
*a loving mother who has become my friend
*the two wonderful women who love my boys for themselves
*my oldest son's significant other's two boys
*my two step-daughters
*my oldest step-daughter's three children (Although my husband and I haven't seen them since the oldest was six months old.)
*my cousins and aunts and uncles (Although I don't see enough of them.)

Family and traditions mean a great deal to me. Other than them, I am thankful for

*a job
*a roof over my head
*food on my table

So, what are you thankful for? Rather than just counting the things you are thankful for on Thanksgiving, it's important to be grateful every day of our lives.

THANKSGIVING TRADITIONS

Traditionally, Thanksgiving was always celebrated with my large extended family. Although the last of my grandmother's generation was laid to rest more than 20 years ago, my mother and her cousins kept the family traditions alive until recently.

Fond memories of a relative's home redolent with the roasting turkey lurk in the back of my mind. The white linen table cloth set with the good china, crystal, and silver. The kitchen abuzz with the cousins making gravy, mashing potatoes, and carving turkey. The various dishes contributed by the family members attending the feast. In the days when I was in elementary school, there was an adult table and a kids table. It was a long wait for food because serving dishes were first past to the adults and then to the kids. Later, when my grandmother's generation passed the hosting down to my mother's generation, the meal was served buffet-style. Thanksgiving dinner with all the fixings included turkey, at least one kind of stuffing, mashed potatoes with gravy, squash puff, creamed onions, corn, a jello salad, some type of dinner rolls, and finished up with pumpkin pie.

This year, however, new traditions have been created. Dinner was still at my mother's, but it was not the large extended family. Instead, we feasted with my oldest son and his girlfriend and her two boys, my youngest son, and my husband: in all we were only a total of eight - a far cry from the 25 to 30 family members that gathered when I was a kid. Instead of a golden bird decorating the table, a beef roast with gravy and cheesy overnight potatoes filled the bill of fare.

But, although some things have changed, I am thankful that I have raised two descent boys, that I have a loving, wonderful husband, that my mother is still a vibrant lady, and that I have a job, a roof over my head, and food in my fridge.