A Week of Gratitude, Day 5: Traditions

Taking the WHOLE week off to spend time with my amazing family. Am auto-posting a series titled "A Week of Gratitude" while we're off doing cool stuff like baking, digging out the Christmas decorations, jumping in piles of leaves, making final visits to the playground before the weather gets too cold, visiting with the relatives, taking looooong drives all in one vehicle, singing songs loudly, and anything else we can think of. Be back in a few days! Happy Thanksgiving, everyone. This year, let's be glad of all we have...

A Week of Gratitude, Day 5: Traditions

I have spent most of the Thanksgivings in my adult life at my mother's house. She makes the turkey just right, and always has the sides I love. She has an itinerary, but also a aura of ease that makes it natural to relax and let worry leave you. I like that I can sit still and not feel like I need to rush, or take a nap on the sofa without embarrassment, or have a snack any old time I like.

Since our eldest was little, one of the things she and I look forward to each time we go to Grammie's house is walking down the road to the nearby park to play on the playground or walk the exercise trail or enjoy the weather. Going again this year was the first time our middle child really appreciated the playground, and the first time our new baby has gone at all. I loved the feeling that we were building a tradition with all our family, that all our children would look forward to this each year and remember playing there, with us or with one another. I love that all the damp coolness of the playground mixes up in my memory with the smell of the leaves and the sound of their voices and the taste of the food, that I remember what they were wearing and what they said as they ran and played.

On Thanksgiving Day, I am thankful for continuity and the rebirth it brings.