Mashed Potatoes Just Don't Get the Same Respect

I was listening to a co-worker today talk about the Thanksgiving dinner she was going to prepare for her family. My other co-worker said, “oh! You’re going to make sweet potatoes with brown sugar and cloves?! My dad used to make it that way, too. You guys are making me sad…I miss him.” Just like that, my thoughts went to some of the people in my life who are gone now. I thought of grandpa missed him so much I ached. I’m not sure when my co-worker’s father passed away and I’m sure she misses him all year long. It’s something about these holidays that makes the absence felt even more. I thought of grandpa’s deep voice praying and how he sat at the head of the table, how he fell asleep in church or his Lazy-Boy. I thought of him teasing me about not liking venison and singing “Holly Loki is the girl for me.” I thought about the other family members who have died and how special they made holidays for me, for all of us. I even started missing my parents, knowing time is so preciously ticking away. For a few moments, I was sad.

My thoughts went from longing for the past to my niece and nephew. This is their past right now. The people who make the holidays so special for them are living now. The traditions they will remember, the memories they will carry with them, the ones they will pass on…it’s all happening right now. Someday, they will stop short and ache for someone who has died but right now, this is their childhood and I’m glad to help build on it. Our time spent with family is so important which is why Joey and I are somehow going to fit three Thanksgiving dinners into tomorrow. Why complain, though? I have no right to complain about being too full…only thank-full. Ha! I’m so funny.