Friendsgiving

Tis the season for long table dinners, friends who are family, new traditions + old, heart-warming whiskey, and good storytelling. Friendsgiving. Ah, my second favorite holiday. Although it hasn’t always been.

As a kid, we would celebrate with extended family at my grandmother’s house, just outside the city of Chicago. Her home would be filled of laughter, a roaring fire and endless rounds of Uno. As the years went on, several divorces took place, family drama, silent treatments, resentments, miscommunication/lack thereof. The list goes on. Family members stopped coming. And soon my grandma no longer needed the table extender, or even the dining room table altogether. It no longer was a holiday on my radar. Gratitude seemed forced instead of a natural flow.

As an adult, I began hosting my own out in California. Myself and most of my friends were a bunch of transplants with family all over the country. And with Christmas around the corner most stuck around for Thanksgiving. These dinners changed the game for me. Joy and gratitude resurfaced. A new tradition I didn’t want to break.

The holidays can stir merriment or madness. Maybe some chairs at the table that were once filled now sit empty. The nostalgia for what was lingers in the air. May we hold those memories close, and release them with gratitude. And gracefully begin to rebuild our own table, traditions, and what it is we’re truly thankful for.