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| (c) Personal Photo |
Our Thanksgiving Tradition began quite accidentally in 1962. First Thanksgiving together, first year of marriage, new baby, new job in a new State far from family, and Bob, a radio broadcaster, had to work on Thanksgiving Day. As it turned out, Bob's co-worker was also new to the State and had no family nearby, so Bob brought him home for dinner with us.
This began a 40-year tradition of 'sharing' our Thanksgiving Dinner with someone who would otherwise be alone and probably not even have a traditional holiday dinner. We fed a turkey dinner to a lot of grateful bachelors over the years and it always felt like the perfect way to celebrate this "sharing" holiday.
Pilgrim Greeters
Our church in Lincoln, Nebraska had a tradition for the Thanksgiving Service of having a family with a pair of children be 'greeters' for the congregation. Someone in the church had made pilgrim costumes for the greeters to wear. In 1969 our children (Chris & Kim, brother and sister, ages 7 & 4) were chosen - not just because they were so cute (well, they were!), but because they were the right SIZE for the only pair of costumes available. Chris & Kim had a marvelous time "dressing up" and greeting everyone at the door to the church.
What Can I Bring?
Dinner guests often ask "What can I bring?" For several years, while living in Georgia, we invited a young bachelor friend of our daughter and son-in-law to Thanksgiving Dinner. Eric was a broadcaster with a Public Radio Station and had to work on holidays, so he came to dinner after work. Eric always wanted to "bring a dish", so we left 'dessert' up to him. The first two years, Eric brought TWO kinds of pies, a third different dessert, like a cheesecake, AND a bag of Peanut M&M's.
These extra desserts Eric brought worked out well when our shared table included our daughter and her husband from St. Louis and another year when we also had my brother & his family, making Thanksgiving a bountiful 'family & friend-filled holiday.
One Thanksgiving Eric was the only dinner guest, thus there was only 3 of us eating an entire Thanksgiving Dinner. Therefore, I admonished Eric to bring only ONE dessert -- there was only SO MUCH that we could eat!
Away for Thanksgiving
From being the home my family came to for holiday celebrations, Thanksgiving 2010 the 'tables' were reversed and I spent Thanksgiving at the home of my youngest son in Kansas City, Kansas.
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| Grandsons Nick & Jake |
Thanksgiving with my Grandsons!
My Grandsons made the Thanksgiving weekend at my son's house even more special as Thanksgiving is:
~a family time,
~a sharing time,
~a loving time!
Happy Thanksgiving from the Austins!
Related article: Thanksgiving Themes
(c) Wednesday Elf article originally published 11/3/2009. Updated 11/20/2017
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