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Giving Thanks...
Nov. 22nd, 2012 06:16 amTo American citizens at home and abroad, Happy Thanksgiving! May you not have to think long or hard to come up with a long list of things you are thankful for.
(actually, I shall send that wish out to all, even if you're not observing US citizens....)
This year? The list of things to be thankful for is long. For family and friends, and the intersection between the two. For being reminded of both the ferocity and the mercy of nature - and the ferocity and mercy of humanity, likewise. For hope. For work. For health. For love.
In my family, Thanksgiving is the closest we have to a holy obligation. Short of death or dismemberment, you WILL show up.
(and if death, you'd better have a note from the coroner, excusing you). Thankfully, this isn't really a hardship, since my family is - in technical terms - disturbingly functional, and we all actually enjoy spending time together (although we too have certain topics that are Not to Be Discussed, especially after the second bottle of wine is opened...).
This is also when we have the annual Family Photo, which is one of the hokey, emotional must-haves of the year, silly as it may be. There's a photo record going back for decades, spanning four generations...
So: what's your (small or huge, silly, emotional, or otherwise slightly embarrassing) family-gathering tradition?
(and don't forget - the Thanksgiving Contest is ongoing! http://suricattus.livejournal.com/1580301.html)
(actually, I shall send that wish out to all, even if you're not observing US citizens....)
This year? The list of things to be thankful for is long. For family and friends, and the intersection between the two. For being reminded of both the ferocity and the mercy of nature - and the ferocity and mercy of humanity, likewise. For hope. For work. For health. For love.
In my family, Thanksgiving is the closest we have to a holy obligation. Short of death or dismemberment, you WILL show up.
(and if death, you'd better have a note from the coroner, excusing you). Thankfully, this isn't really a hardship, since my family is - in technical terms - disturbingly functional, and we all actually enjoy spending time together (although we too have certain topics that are Not to Be Discussed, especially after the second bottle of wine is opened...).
This is also when we have the annual Family Photo, which is one of the hokey, emotional must-haves of the year, silly as it may be. There's a photo record going back for decades, spanning four generations...
So: what's your (small or huge, silly, emotional, or otherwise slightly embarrassing) family-gathering tradition?
(and don't forget - the Thanksgiving Contest is ongoing! http://suricattus.livejournal.com/1580301.html)
