Thanksgiving
It’s a time of the year full of mixed feelings for me. I grew up with the idea that somehow we were celebrating a festival between Native Americans and Pilgrims. There were paper Mayflowers, cornucopias, there might have been some dressing as Sacagawea with my very blonde hair in two braids on either side of my head. Let’s just consider for a second that Sacagawea (not pronounced Sack-a-juwea, but rather Se-kag-a-weah) was actually a Lemhi Shoshone girl of 16 when she joined the Lewis and Clark Expedition. I say girl because was 16, however, she was also married and pregnant. And married should be scrutinized here because as I understand it, she was the 4th wife of a French Canadian Fur trader (and I am not referencing him because he did purchase her…in my book, I am pretty sure that makes this slavery). She went along on the expedition because she could converse with the Shoshones and also spoke english (she was captured at age 12). She also delivered a baby on this expedition, just think about that for a minute. Going to Target is challenge with a toddler but birthing by yourself with a freaking ton of white men hanging around.
While Sacagawea is just one story years removed from the Harvest Festival of the Pilgrims, the story of the destruction and devastation caused to Native Americans from the immigration of people seeking land for religious freedom should not be ignored. Thanksgiving for me isn’t about celebrating the Pilgrims being successful, though without their success I would not be here. I try to make space in my life to acknowledge that there are people the world over seeking a place that is safe for religious reasons, political reasons, violence reasons….and so forth.
Years ago I remember my Aunt having a disagreement with my sister because it was my sister’s first time hosting dinner and she made deviled eggs and GOD-FORBID she put little pink shrimp on them! The HORROR! My Aunt declared that there were no little pink shrimp at the original feast. To which I am sure my other sister piped in that we should then be serving eel. And every year since, I hope for eel!
Being from Eastern Oregon, wild turkey are of plenty during November because it’s their mating season. But it’s also considered poaching to harvest them during this time. Most people buy a Turkey, I am sure my ancestors fattened a big old Tom just for the occasion all year. The same bird I probably chased around my Great Aunt’s yard all summer. We buy the bird, the canned cranberry sauce and then we launch out the next day to start the Christmas shopping (not my family, they have chores that need to be done, so maybe it’s wood cutting or preg checking cows because there are more people than the weekend before or the weekend after, and more hands means more gets done). Why the Christmas shopping you ask? Let’s go back to the US recovering from the Great Depression, it was a great marketing idea to get money into the economy. And before that, even further back it was used to describe a day in September when several financiers tried to corner the gold market and the result was a market crash that caused a depression. And now we call it Black Friday because businesses supposedly make their profit on this day after operating in the red all year. There are some other very ugly possibilities of why we call this day Black Friday.
Breathe. Literally, just stop and take a breath.
Take another.
Thursday is coming.
But let’s reconsider the meaning. What if this season were the season of being Thankful. I think most of our nation might agree that it’s been changing for some time, and I really hope that is the case. I actually love the Thanksgiving gather these days (but I would petition for it to be moved to July or maybe September when produce is at it’s best and it’s warm outside and we could hang out by the river all day…first world problems…I am a jerk). I love the family time. I love that my children are submerged in an environment of love during this time. I don’t love that they basically have endless access to treats, but I do love that those treats are made in a kitchen full of love. I love that they play with cousins, and help with the wood cutting and maybe stoke the fire until they are too cold and they all retreat to the house to be warmed by another fire and watch some tv (for blogging sake, I really wish I could say they make popcorn on the fire and play Scrabble, but they do not).
Thanksgiving with my family is certainly food centric and as families have grown, the foods we have are changing. There are the traditional turkey, stuffing and pies. But there is no longer little pink shrimp on the eggs. There is however the addition of cream cheese stuffed jalapeños, chocolate pie, fudge, elk jerky, and something called a gooey bar that is basically stealing the show! I am still making lemon meringue after more than 25 years. That is a story for another time.
How do you celebrate the season?
What would you change?
I saw something the other day that suggested bringing weed brownies or some other marijuana infused items to keep the situation relaxed. I am not advocating for this because…kids. But also we should have enough self control to avoid heated conversations.
Here are my holiday survival tips.
Spend time with the people you love (and less with those that drive you nuts)
Avoid hot topic conversations at all cost (there is no point of creating conflict)
Do a chore for someone else. Hang their Christmas lights, wash their dishes, chop some wood, mow a lawn if you are lucky enough to be some place where the grass is still growing, shovel snow…just do something for someone else.
Moderation. FOR EVERYTHING. This includes the wine and the pie, or gooey bars if you are that lucky. But it also includes the exercise. See number 1. But if exercise helps in the spending less time with those that drive you nuts, then certainly, get out, run or have a walk, or climb a really tall mountain. Everyone feels better when they climb a mountain.
Focus on the day. Not yesterday or last year. One day at a time. Set the intention of having a good day.
Find a little alone time if you need to reset. Crowds overwhelm me and I need space to just stop.
Rest. Stick with your typical schedule. Don’t budge bed time more than an hour of so in either direction.
Drink water. You need it. You always need it. And you probably need it more during this time of travel and extra everything.
Baking a rustic open face apple pie with Sayla.
She’s growing in her pie baking!
