“It isn’t often that we are all able to come together. It isn’t often that I can look to the right and see my wife’s sister, and at the right see my wife’s sister’s brother in law. This day is special not simply for the holiday- it is special for the opportunity of a snapshot. Right now, I see a snapshot of this family and I can only hope for us all to remember and cherish it. Happy thanksgiving, and L’chaim!”
Thanksgiving is a relative term, is it not? Technically, the holiday is an expression of gratitude; it is a day dedicated to the appreciation of all that is fortunate in our lives. In my life, that fortune is most simply put as one word- family.
My Thanksgiving this year was spent in Elicott City, Maryland, at my aunt’s house. Everyone was there, from every side of everyone’s families. That’s the key term here- “everyone.” No matter how bland conversation got, it was still enticing for the sheer reason that everyone was there to witness it. It’s rare for my family to get together. Between all of the extended branches and sects, we have people living in Michigan, Maryland, and Illinois. Any one of three states define most of our trips, yet they never occur simultaneously. We also managed to have three generations together in a room for an extended period of time; the rarity of this cannot be understated. And so, perhaps the key term for my thanksgiving wasn’t “everyone,” but rather- “three?” Either way, it gave me a sense of belonging I’ve forgotten existed. In my world of class, work, friends, and acquaintances, it was nice to get a break and indulge in the fortune that is family.
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