Sharing Thanksgiving

December days seem shorter than other days and I’m not just talking about the winter solstice.  As the days slip by, more slippery than the ice that covers much of the country right now, I want to hold on to them but can’t keep my grasp.  Can you believe it’s mid-December already?

Before more time passes, I wanted to write about Thanksgiving because, for us, it was such a unique holiday celebration this year.

We invited neighbors who are immigrants from China.  They have lived here 11 years, but this is the first year that they are U.S. citizens, so it was an especially important Thanksgiving for them. 

We also invited two students from a local university.  The students seek out the opportunity to come to an American home and experience this meaningful American holiday for the first time. I have had a lot of people in my home over the years but none who seemed so grateful to be invited. The young man, whose name we could never pronounce so we all finally gave up trying, did not speak much English, but he seemed to understand everything really well.  When Kevin dropped him off, the man (we will call him “Z”) gave Kevin a big hug. We enjoyed hearing about their cultures and were just as blessed--probably more so--than they were. 

Meredith had a lot of questions about these new people who showed up at our house.  I think she was impacted by our entertaining strangers/foreigners for an afternoon.  It makes me want to do it more often.  It was good for our kids to meet these really wonderful people, who have vastly different backgrounds and cultures.

This year was also different because Granny, Kevin’s great-grandmother, was the only extended family member who was able to join us.  We really enjoyed having her help us entertain everyone!  She was so friendly to the guests and I appreciated her warmth and participation.  She also brought her famous green beans, deviled eggs, and macaroni and cheese.

The kids made these little hand turkeys before our guests arrived.  Thanksgiving wasn't Pinterest-fancy this year.  But it was good, memorable, fun and tasty.  

"Z" (to whom Granny eventually said, "I will just call you John") brought along a little game/puzzle.  Even though he didn't speak fluent English, he was friendly and kind.  We enjoyed interacting with him. He is from the central coast of China. It is nice that our neighbors, the Wang family, speak fluent Mandarin so they could help translate.    

The man carves the turkey.  Always. (The woman does everything else.  Ha!  No, actually Kevin made really amazing cranberry-orange sauce this year.  He swears he cannot cook.  Now I know otherwise.  The secret is out.) 

We had a really nice spread of food.  As I mentioned above, Granny brought her contributions.  My neighbor Julia brought duck, spring rolls, and some type of mixed vegetables.  Having people from different cultural backgrounds at Thanksgiving reminded me of the Pilgrims and Indians.  Each came together, with their own special dishes, to feast and show thankfulness for their common blessings.  I tried some new Chinese dishes this year—duck and the mixed vegetable dish.  I’m sure some pilgrims probably tried new Indian dishes on that first Thanksgiving as well.  

Nothing is ever perfect, right?  Poor Clara had a fever on Thanksgiving morning so we sequestered her to her bedroom.  She had her food (and many refills of sparkling cider) brought up to her.  She cried.  But in the end she was a good sport.  

 

Every baby loves mashed potatoes. 

Mara is from both Brazil and Japan. She was awesome. She loves kids and spent a lot of time playing little clap games with the girls.  Then she braided all of their hair, which they absolutely loved.  She had never had pumpkin pie so here we are, before she tries homemade pumpkin pie for the first time.  After eating dessert, we became Facebook friends.   

One of the best memories I will always keep is watching Granny play the piano at the end of the day.  She said she hadn't touched a piano in 15 years.  It was amazing.  She played hymn after hymn flawlessly.  I could tell that those fingers of hers, which knew all the keys by heart, had spent many years playing those songs.  She was carefree and having fun at the piano and we all loved it. 

And, lastly, the kids.  They always do love dressing up at Thanksgiving.  This little pilgrim outfit that my mom made for my little sister probably will last us only another year and then we will have to pass it on! Children grow so quickly.  Time passes so quickly.  December days are short and the other days are not much longer.