My House Smells Like Memories

Thanksgiving dinner is so much more than the food on the plate, but it is important.  Who is sitting around the table is more important, but even that isn't all of it.  To me, the meaning of a Thanksgiving day celebration is the cumulative total of it all.  It is all the years and all the combinations.  The overlapping layers of sensory  experiences.  Some things are core - like the turkey, and going around saying what you are most thankful for, but I suppose if you had enough of the other pieces, you could have a traditional Thanksgiving dinner even without these.

As I was preparing the big, bald bird last night, I thought about how I used to watch my Grandmother do exactly what I was doing.  I was fascinated and disgusted by her reaching her hand in and pulling out the neck and that bag of grossness.  As I stuck my hand in to that carcass, it could have been her hand, or my mother's hand.  All of us, over the years, over the decades and the generations, doing the same things, creating the same meal, the same celebration for our families.  I like feeling that connection to the past, the connection to where I came from. 

I woke up early today and baked a pumpkin pie, then got the stuffing going, and eventually the turkey in the oven.  The combination of those smells, brought up memories of Thanksgivings of the past.  It was almost like the ghost of Thanksgiving past was there, taking me on a tour.  Those times when I was a kid, and all I had to do was watch, wait and eat, my first Thanksgiving on my own, when I had to work at the theater, the Thanksgiving at my grandparents right before we got married, those years when we were in St. Louis, then Colorado, and Utah, and now here in Hawaii.  Thanksgivings as a child, then with small children, and now the children grown and half way across the world in different directions, all of them rolling together. All those locations, and the rotation of people at the table, yet they were somehow, fundamentally the same.  They have a common thread - gratitude for the wonderful blessing of family, and freedom, the ability to pursue our individual dreams of happiness with a good chance of success.  Thanksgiving in my world has always been about love and gratitude for God, family and freedom.  My commitment to those ideals is strengthened by the cumulative memories carried on the traditional scents of the day.

Traditions are important, it's how we pass along our values, culture and faith to the next generation.  We keep doing things the way we always have so that those core values are strengthened, and the meaningful things of life are not lost.

'Tis the Season

Late last night I was at the grocery store.  I like shopping late, it's easier to find a parking spot and the store is less crowded. It's so much easier for me to get in and get out.  So, anyway, as I'm walking through the store I notice they still have a big display of clearance Halloween candy and stuff.  They really over bought this year.  I guess Halloween on a Monday night just doesn't pull the trick or treaters like a weekend.  Why is that candy now undesirable?  It's still M&M's in there, only the packaging is dated. I would have bought more, but I think I've already done my part at more than 10 bags.  My freezer is stocked!

Right next to the Halloween junk pile, is one of many Christmas displays.  The store pretty much looks like Christmas threw up all over it.  There are displays of everything from Christmas soda to Christmas Kleenex.  (BTW - I strongly suspect those Kleenex are left overs from last year that they dusted off and drug out of the back.)  They even have a good 1/3 of the parking lot already blocked off and set up for the once live, now dead, Christmas trees that must be on the way.  It looks like their arrival is eminent.   I'm a big fan of Christmas, but really???

What happened to Thanksgiving?  It's next week, right?  Or did I miss it somehow? If I did, that would really stink, because Thanksgiving is probably my favorite holiday.

I didn't see many Thanksgiving themed products.  I guess a holiday that is based on gratitude, doesn't inspire a lot of paraphernalia.  Halloween is all about candy, and getting as much of it as you can from someone else, even strangers.  It's fun, lighthearted looting.  Christmas has become a holiday about stuff.  The acquisition of stuff, the giving of stuff.  It's really all about the stuff.   But Thanksgiving stands in the middle, virtually stuff free. 

You can say Thanksgiving is about the turkey and the football, and that might be true.  Even if that is so, you sit around a table with family and friends to eat that turkey.  You cheer on your favorite team with all your buddies.  There isn't a mad grab for sugary treats.  We have a civilized piece of pie, on a plate.  There isn't any pressure to buy all your family, friends, co-workers, clients, and acquaintances you might happen to bump into, a Thanksgiving present. 

There are Thanksgiving themed table decorations,  wreaths for the door to welcome guests, candles to make the house smell like you are baking, even if you bought your pies at Costco,, and that's about it in the "stuff" department.  The rest of the celebration is all about delicious food, and a group of loved ones to share it with,. 

While Thanksgiving may be under represented in the retail arena, I'm grateful that it has not lost it's heart and soul.  It doesn't matter what religion you practice, all can express gratitude together.  There is no controversy about a day of gratitude, and goodwill.  Thanksgiving is a time to reflect on the great abundance that we enjoy, the love of our families and friends.  I for one, love Thanksgiving, and can't wait for next week.  My house will be full of happy people, my table full of God's bounty, and my heart full of gratitude for my wonderful life.