A faded tradition
Y’all, my heart is so full. This past weekend we had a traditional Thanksgiving get-together with some of our extended family. We hadn't gotten together with this side of our family for at least a decade. When I was young, we would go to Grandma Janna's house in the evening on Thanksgiving and spend the night with our cousins. As time went on this tradition faded away and eventually stopped completely. This was due in part to the patriarch of our family, our sweet Grandma Janna, passing away almost eight years ago. As she aged, her hold on our family as the glue began to fade, and making time for this side of the family was just not as easy as it used to be. Time went on and we grew up, moved away, and didn’t prioritize continuing that tradition. It didn’t feel the same once she was gone to have Thanksgiving in someone else’s home.
Getting back to the heart of things
All that aside, my cousin had the brilliant idea to reunite the family, and we couldn’t have asked for a better time. We began the day by attending church together and surely felt His presence during the service and worship time. It’s not too often that we all get to be in the same place for church as part of our family lives over 4 hours away. In the afternoon we shared a traditional Thanksgiving meal, plenty of desserts and pies, and felt the love we'd been missing for so many years. My aforementioned brilliant cousin made homemade noodles that were to die for. As Mack was only a few weeks old, it was made more special with the addition of a baby. It has been a long time since we have had babies in the family, as the next youngest cousins are 16 and 11. We had 4 generations represented, and it felt so special to have everyone there. It reminded us of our past celebrations which always included homemade pumpkin pie, Grandma Gillette’s divinity, and a scrumptious turkey dinner. Grandma Gillette was Grandma Janna's mom. I didn't know her very long as she passed away when I was young, but I still remember her making divinity every year for a Thanksgiving treat. As a kid, I never appreciated the classic taste of divinity, but the older I get, I see the complexity involved in the old-fashioned candy. As our blog grows, you’ll see many of Grandma Gillette's recipes, especially around holiday times. She was a wonderful cook and baker and my mom and I are lucky to have some of her recipes passed down to us.
Keeping our tradition alive
On those cherished Thanksgiving days, we would stay late and play cards. Our game of choice was always progressive rummy; it still is. Above everything else, we cherished this time together and never wasted a precious moment to appreciate each other. Over time, we lost the importance of spending time together as a family. But this past weekend brought reconciliation in a way that I wasn’t sure we’d ever get back. With Jesus in the forefront of our lives, it was an amazing time of bonding and recreating the tradition we once had so much fun with. We’re already planning our next family get-together, a game day in January complete with plenty of appetizers and desserts. Stay tuned to see what yummy recipe I end up taking!
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