We’re having a Thanksgiving get together at my brother’s house with my Mom’s side of the family in a little bit. Something that’s not happened since we were kids, because of life.
I want to first say that this wasn’t due to lack of effort. My brother and SIL put a lot of effort in trying to make it be as normal as possible, and I thank you two greatly for that. And I’m sorry that it didn’t turn out the way you wanted it to.
It sucked because the first Thanksgiving without Mom couldn’t have gone any other way. Thanksgiving and Christmas was Mom’s two favorite holidays. She was so excited about Thanksgiving this year. The last doctor appointment that Dad took her to, she made sure with the doctor that she would be able to have some turkey and other things on Thanksgiving, even if her surgery was on the 29th. She was so excited that he said yes. Every few days for the prior few weeks Mom would ask us something about Thanksgiving, or mention getting things ready for it. She couldn’t wait.
Each year as Thanksgiving approaches, I can’t help but imagine the Thanksgiving scenes from TV shows. Not necessarily the details of them, but how the get-together is made into a much bigger deal than the usual family dinner together.
This year my dad got a job that had to be done over the holiday weekend, which had him working on Thanksgiving Day. This really didn’t bother me at all, because work is slow, and you pretty much have to take what you can get when you can get it these days until things pick back up some. He made it home in time to eat dinner with everyone though.
The disappointment was how my Grandma decided she wanted to treat the holiday. Sometime on Wednesday, she told my mom that she wouldn’t be coming down to join us; she lives right up the same street as we do. She has been in contact with what is my uncle and his family, or her estranged son, and was invited to go out and eat with them for Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving Day comes, she decided not to go with them but was going to have an evening dinner with them, but also decided she would come down with us as well. But as she normally does, she said she wouldn’t be eating because she had just ate something before she came down. She has done this year after year. I’m almost certain this is due to us having pets, but millions of households have pets, and our house and kitchen is very clean. I love her to death, but I just cannot understand why she insists on doing that.
A few photos from this set
A post by Muse yesterday mentioned Abraham Lincoln’s Proclamation of Thanksgiving, of which I don’t recall ever being mentioned in our textbooks in school. Maybe it was and I just can’t remember, but I took it upon myself to look it up last night and read it.
I never really thought about what the reasoning was behind Thanksgiving falling on a Thursday. This explains it:
I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens.
Love knows no limits and true friendships last a lifetime. Get back in touch with someone today. You’ll be glad you did.
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