Happy Thanksgiving

Erin said...
What was Thanksgiving like in your family growing up? What traditions will you be making/using in your Thanksgiving this year?


Growing up, Thanksgiving was a decent holiday. :) My dad and my brothers would usually go hunting at some point in the fall and try to get us a turkey or elk (or both). We also always had turkey in the freezer as it was sort of the go-to-freezer meat of Quiverfull families (and still is to this day). You can buy them extremely cheap right after major holidays and we did. In any case, we girls would spend the two days leading up to Thanksgiving rolling out pie dough, getting roll dough ready, and generally destroying the kitchen with our preparations. Even though it was a lot of work, it was some of the best times I've spent with my mom and sisters. Even the little girls were put to work opening cans of ingredients or measuring stuff for us to cook. My mom made a great stuffing that I miss even now. I'm going to try to recreate it this year for Harris' family. After we ate, we cleaned up while the men gathered to listen to a sermon on tape. Then they'd go out and play on the quads or do whatever it is guys do outside. Other than the big dinner, it was a normal day, but it was the one day my dad would say, just to us, that he was thankful for us. Normally, we were his public blessing and what felt like his private burden. But on Thanksgiving he managed to sound sincere in private.

Thanksgiving, more than Christmas, was a happy holiday in my house because it wasn't a political thing. Christmas always became a quest for my father to show the world how much holier we were by not losing site of the "Christ" in Christmas. That whole deal trumped our excitement and happiness. I'll write more about that after Thanksgiving because to be frank, I don't want to be bummed out right before what could be a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Last year, I felt alone and melancholy. This year, I'm really excited about going to see Harris' family and being part of ANY family again.