One of the things I love about Thanksgiving is the contrast between how we think things are going to go, and the reality of how things really turn out. Going into this Thanksgiving I had, as usual, ideas about 3 families under one roof with children playing quietly and adults sipping beverages contentedly while soft music plays in the background and perfectly warmed hors d'oeuvres miraculously appear on a table which is then cleaned spotlessly along with the kitchen floor. The reality is more of a jumbled 3-families-from-3-different-time-zones-with-6-differently-aged-children jumping and yelling while adults whisper loudly to try to be quiet and serve food at all different hours and take into account all different tastes and decide to drink cocktails starting at earlier and earlier hours as the week goes on. And it turns into one great big mess. And there is always a fight (or two or three) and words snapped and feelings hurt and reversion back to childhood roles and buttons pushed that only families can push.
And while getting together causes all sorts of drama, it also causes us to become closer each year. Because family is the one place where you can get in an argument one moment and then get caught laughing at an old memory in the next. Where you cry and laugh and laugh until you cry. Where you can always be forgiven. Where you can always turn in need. Where you are always welcome and where you are always accepted.
It's not always easy, and there are times when it is no fun at all, but being together with family means that you are both creating memories for the future and reliving memories of the past. Because in the midst of it we may ask ourselves why we put up with each other, but in the aftermath we are reminded why we do. Because family is forever. Because memories made are cherished. Because being together, no matter how dramatic, is always better than being apart.
Happy post-Thanksgiving.
-a
And while getting together causes all sorts of drama, it also causes us to become closer each year. Because family is the one place where you can get in an argument one moment and then get caught laughing at an old memory in the next. Where you cry and laugh and laugh until you cry. Where you can always be forgiven. Where you can always turn in need. Where you are always welcome and where you are always accepted.
It's not always easy, and there are times when it is no fun at all, but being together with family means that you are both creating memories for the future and reliving memories of the past. Because in the midst of it we may ask ourselves why we put up with each other, but in the aftermath we are reminded why we do. Because family is forever. Because memories made are cherished. Because being together, no matter how dramatic, is always better than being apart.
Happy post-Thanksgiving.
-a
Comments
Post a Comment