Ah, family gatherings! I just love when the family gets together. Holidays are perfect for taking time to remember our blessings. I love having family traditions that help us remember good times and the relatives that are no longer with us, yet have left us with so much. They helped me learn to appreciate my faith, my family, my friends, this beautiful world, the freedoms we enjoy in this land, and so many other gifts.
One of our traditions at Thanksgiving is to take time before our feast to go around the table letting everyone mention something they are grateful for. We used to set out 3 kernels of corn representing 3 blessings for each person to recount. But as our gatherings have gotten more populated, we have had to limit each person to mention just one.
Sometimes we even sing a song. This is a nod to my Aunt Janie Thompson who insisted that we sing one of her novelty songs each year. She rewrote the words of "Turkey in the Straw" to be "Turkey in the Pan." The ending rhymes can be "Oh every year this is the way__ the U.S. celebrates Thanksgiving Day!" Or, "We're glad to celebrate with you__ this Thanksgiving Day of Twenty Twenty-Two." (She always rewrote the lyric to match the current year. She was clever that way!)
This year, being that it is my birthday on Thanksgiving Day, I am also asking my children for something special. I asked that we get a family picture taken with as many as are here. It is so rare that we are able to get photo documentation of our gatherings. So, in lieu of presents, I just want a nice picture taken. It won't be everyone, but 18 out of 40 is pretty good.
Other traditions we have done are playing games, building puzzles, watching football games, and eating a lot of pie! Thanksgiving just cannot happen without many different pies. The Bailey family loves their pies --- apple, lemon merengue, cherry, razzle berry (or any berry), custard, mince meat, but mostly pumpkin! Yum!
One of our traditions at Thanksgiving is to take time before our feast to go around the table letting everyone mention something they are grateful for. We used to set out 3 kernels of corn representing 3 blessings for each person to recount. But as our gatherings have gotten more populated, we have had to limit each person to mention just one.
Sometimes we even sing a song. This is a nod to my Aunt Janie Thompson who insisted that we sing one of her novelty songs each year. She rewrote the words of "Turkey in the Straw" to be "Turkey in the Pan." The ending rhymes can be "Oh every year this is the way__ the U.S. celebrates Thanksgiving Day!" Or, "We're glad to celebrate with you__ this Thanksgiving Day of Twenty Twenty-Two." (She always rewrote the lyric to match the current year. She was clever that way!)
This year, being that it is my birthday on Thanksgiving Day, I am also asking my children for something special. I asked that we get a family picture taken with as many as are here. It is so rare that we are able to get photo documentation of our gatherings. So, in lieu of presents, I just want a nice picture taken. It won't be everyone, but 18 out of 40 is pretty good.
Other traditions we have done are playing games, building puzzles, watching football games, and eating a lot of pie! Thanksgiving just cannot happen without many different pies. The Bailey family loves their pies --- apple, lemon merengue, cherry, razzle berry (or any berry), custard, mince meat, but mostly pumpkin! Yum!
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