I must soon be off to buy cider for the big kindergarten feast, but all this talk of Thanksgiving has me a bit nostalgic and sad. Thanksgiving was a huge event in the Buxton family. The many, many cousins and second cousins and who-knows-how-they're-related cousins gathered at the family homestead, where enormous folding tables stretched the length of my grandparents' basement, leaving the littlest kids (me and my three male cousins for a while) to make do with an old sofa and a coffee table. There was of course tons of food, including at least four or five varieties of pie with lots of Cool Whip.
But what I really miss was the long afternoon after lunch. The adults would play endless games of pinochle, leaving us kids to devise our own fun way out in the Missouri boonies. If the weather was warm, that meant a wagon ride from Grandpa out into the woods and down to the creek, past "Daniel Boone's" bed springs. If it had snowed, there were cardboard boxes to sled in down the steep front yard. And there were always the games in the garage, one of the few ways the older cousins mixed with us young ones, deigning to allow us to join the Blind Man's Bluff and Red Light, Green Light. We played our own card games, too, usually 21 or Gin. Ahh, fond memories of teaching little Trae 52-Card Pickup, which he adored and wanted to play again. My memories of my grandparents' house really have little to do with them, much more about the cousins.
This year, I won't even see my mom. We'll do a couple of gatherings with Brad's family, but they're always a bit strained. There won't even be pumpkin pie (though I'm making a fabulous pumpkin cake). And mom is going to London for Christmas. It's going to be a very strange holiday season lacking any connection to my family. I adore traditions, am really a very conservative person when it comes to institutions and history, and losing all of mine this year makes me sad.
I don't even have a Black Friday shopping buddy.
But we'll start new traditions. One I'm stealing from an acquaintance, Abigail and I are going to go through her toys Friday and pick out a few to give away -- both to make room for Santa's goodies and to give a Christmas to poor children. Then we'll take our choices over to Goodwill, our final acts of thanks.
Happy Thanksgiving.
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Welcome to my odditorium, a collection of curiosities made up of snippets about my life and occasional machinations on deeper subjects.
8 comments:
If it's your mom's yummmmmmy pumpkin cake that she brought to the dunce family gathering in Kentucky a few years back, everything will be magically joyous.
We're at home for T-G, too, as Tim heads to Europe soon after for business. We do have an invite to go out for sushi with my boss/friend that evening though...
danny and i are in houston on our own for thanksgiving this year for the second year in a row... it's so expensive to fly back to north carolina. i know what you mean about missing big family thanksgivings! i remember my mom had these candles she always used on thanksgiving... the smell of them always reminds me of the holidays. i should find them the next time i'm home.
but danny and i wish you, brad, and abigail a happy turkey day!
We are having Thanksgiving at Jason's this year, well on Saturday at least. In the UK you don't get Thursday off after all. It is going to be a small one this year. Jason is barbequeing a chicken, not even a turkey (not that I mind of course). I am making pumpkin pie in the olf fashioned style and real cranberry sauce a la Mom.
Oh yeah, I forgot to put...
---The Sister
It was a strange thanksgiving. The second away from mom and dad, and the first away from any family whatsoever. (my first Thanksgiving away was during my internship in NYC- I celebrated with my cousins and great aunt).
But I was adopted by a friend from work. I went home with her and her mother and father- laughed, ate turkey, and generally tried to be a good guest with wine bottle in hand. From this point on, I am going to be aware of those away from family and make sure everyone has somewhere to go.
What a wonderful tradition to start with Abby! I love it. Dual purpose giving. :-)
We had Thanksgiving at my folks' place this year, mostly because I was in Africa last year (and they don't celebrate Thanksgiving in Nairobi). It was a good time, but with Smittygirl working on Black Fridays (banks are not permitted to be closed more than 3 days in a row, I didn't know that) traveling long distances for Thanksgiving is not in the cards for us. Next year we hope to have Thanksgiving at our own home (hopefully in SC). Maybe we'll invite both our families to come up and visit--or maybe we'll try to host an Elm Street Thanksgiving.
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