Thanksgiving
I’ve seen several journals post over the last day or so in favor of thanksgiving, giving their well-wishes. And several more talking about its commercialization and refusal to celebrate it as anything other than a normal day.
Growing up in a traditional family, I can’t get away from celebrating the secular forms of holidays. Actually I don’t have a problem celebrating secular holidays with Santa, presents, shamrocks, cornicopias, etc. As they all have a meaning beyond the commercialism. It’s the narrow-mindedness, consumerism, and loss of meaning that bothers me.
So I went to feast with family yesterday. Some of which I haven’t seen since I was single digits. Though we were missing one uncle, for the first time in over a decade my family on my fathers side was able to set aside differences and feast together. We ate ham, turkey, mashed potatos, stuffing, buffalo, antelope and mule deer. I played guitar and sang for the relatives that had not seen me in so long. I saw their children, whom I had never met.
It’s a good first step for my family. I don’t ever expect those wounds to be healed on my mothers side. Not that I’d ever want them to be.
My father and I will be cooking our turkey today that we got from our uncle when we went to kill turkeys on Sunday. We’ll have our own little informal thanksgiving dinner, and then we’ll be going out to do some tracking for tomorrows opening rifle season. It rained yesterday and the day before so I’m not sure how successful we’ll be. But we have a good idea of some of the deer runs and mating grounds, so we’ll see. Perhaps this weekend will be full of preparing a fresh deer for the winter, like last year.
But in the midst of traditional celebration, I never forget the democide of the native people, who were the standing stones of this country. I’ll feast in their honor today, nothing more.
Entry viewed times. Posted in Dad, Fond Memories
