Skip to main content

Thanksgiving




     We call it Thanksgiving but what is Thanksgiving really? It started out as a dinner shared by the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag Indians to celebrate the first successful harvest they had. "The English colonists we call Pilgrims celebrated days of thanksgiving as part of their religion. But these were days of prayer, not days of feasting" (Scholastic.com). The last time I checked, only 2% of the nation actually farms. There are plenty of gardens but I bet most of the Thanksgiving feast one eats on Thanksgiving comes from a grocery store and not one's own farm.   
     As a tradition now, we get together with family and/or friends to share a feast. When I say feast I mean more food on one table than most people eat in a week. Then sometimes, some people go around the table and say one thing they are grateful for. Then there might be a prayer and after that we gluttonously consume food for hours. There are usually leftovers and everyone leaves that night feeling bloated and uncomfortable. Call me cynical, but I thought gluttony was one of the seven deadly sins.   
     We have an inside joke in my church that if you want something to be well attended you have to have food. We get made fun of over food: green jello, casseroles, leftover cookies/cake from wedding receptions, I could go on. We are a food loving people. But seriously, wouldn't it be better to show our gratitude by not feasting? Wouldn't it be better if people showed up because the message was more important than the food?
     I have personally not taken much of an interest in Thanksgiving. My mom hates turkey so we would go out for Chinese or go be with my grandparents and aunts and uncles and cousins. It wasn't about the food for me at all. I think the best way to show gratitude would be to fast on Thanksgiving and give the money we would have spent on lunch/dinner to charity. "I am so grateful that my life was good this year that I want to help someone else." But then again the idea of spending time with my family while they are all hungry is a terrifying thought. So how about a compromise? What if we don't gorge ourselves on a feast this year. What if we just have a nice dinner where everyone gets fed and we can be grateful that we aren't going home sick this year instead. 
(I do not own the copyright to this picture and if I need to remove it I will.)

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The End of a Chapter

We said goodbye to Canyon View today. Canyon View has been Gabe's school for the last two years. Once upon a time I posted a post about how we suspected Gabe was autistic and now here we are two years and a couple of months later getting ready to send him off to kindergarten. I have tears pooling in my eyes right now as I look back at where we started and the amazing progress he has made. Facebook notified me about a memory from last year at the end of May when I celebrated him saying "mom" clearly for the first time. He's speaking in full paragraphs now (if he has something he wants to share). He is toilet trained. He is so incredibly smart. I have tried to express my gratitude for the teachers that have been on this road with us. Much of the progress he has made is because of your efforts and I am so grateful to you for being his other moms and a support to me. We will continue to have meltdowns, hard times and struggles, but we have an amazing foundation of love an...
Post a Comment
Read more

Men aren't the only ones.

I was sitting in a room filled with women last Friday night. Please tell me what feelings that sentence invokes in you...I'm curious. For me, it feels me with some dread. I myself am a woman but I find the company of many women, overwhelming. All of these women are good people and generally are looking out for my best interests. But then, I opened my mouth. When asked how I was doing I expressed that I was feeling a little crazy and frustrated with my kids. And that's when the advice started. There was good advice, bad advice and stories told about why it is ok to be feeling that way towards my children. There was also the advice; "The worst thing you could possibly do is put a movie on for your kids." Well, I disagree. All of this advice being given within a three minute period. (There were a lot of women). Everyone wanted to share sage advice and wisdom. I understand, I guess. Most of these women are moms and need to get out of the house too. We all need our opinion...
1 comment
Read more

A Birth Story

We decided to try a midwife and I had started to seriously doubt that decision. I was 41 weeks and 1 day pregnant and very anxious about this baby making her appearance. I was tired of the pitying looks and comments from Gabe’s bus drivers and branch members. I was tired of feeling like a hostage to an unborn child. I was tired of feeling anxious and coming up with back-up plans for if she came at night or during the day. I was tired.             I woke up the morning of May 15, 2017 and said to the baby, “Alright, you are done, you are coming out today!” Then proceeded to walk 2.5 miles, take my evening primrose oil capsules, and various other wives tale, natural (excluding castor oil), labor inducing remedies. I climbed into bed that night feeling frustrated. I had had no contractions despite everything I tried. I felt like my body was broken. I kept having thoughts about my other children’s labors. I was induced with both of t...
1 comment
Read more