Thanksgiving has been an ever-evolving event for my family, the one main-stay being my mom’s sweet potato pudding. We used to have it at my Aunt Cindy’s, then a few times with my Gramma Dee and her family in Pennsylvania, but for a long time now, my parents have hosted. The crew keeps growing, and the chaos that I especially missed being an only child after my sister died has returned. It’s my parents, Kendall and I, my dad’s sister and her husband, my mom’s best friend and her husband and now her sister, my mom’s best friend’s son and his wife, and my mom’s yoga instructor who doesn’t have family nearby.
Welcome to my house 8×10 digital print
The theme of the day is “welcome to my house”. My parents honestly have a pretty big house with lots of room for guests and my mom keeps it immaculate (a skill I wish I had), but it’s somehow still incredibly cozy. They redid the basement a few years ago, so to keep the masses out of Daddy D’s kitchen while he’s at work, we hang out down there nibbling apps and the boys kind of watch football. Candles are lit, the table is beautifully decorated, and we just relax.
This year’s going to be a little different, but only after dinner. Instead of passing out in a turkey and red wine/ shmashmosa coma in my favorite leather chair, Kendall and I are leaving after dinner to drive the 17ish hours to Baton Rouge for his good friend’s wedding. Luckily my Auntie Steph will be there to go Black Friday shopping with my mom, but this is just one change in what I know will be a series of transitions as I head into married life.
This year, Kendall and I won’t be together for Christmas, next year, we’ll be in Mississippi as husband and wife. Traditions can grow and change and evolve with the people you let into your life and heart. Sure it, can be scary facing the unfamiliar or having to change (as least for me) but I have the best partner and best family to grow and change with. And one day, not soon, when we have a couple of kids, I can’t wait to start our own traditions with them.
So happy Thanksgiving to my friends old and new! May you start a new tradition this year and/ or find peace and comfort in an old one.
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