Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!
Yesterday was the holiday and this morning I am sitting in my recliner resting and, I'm sure, still digesting all the goodies from yesterday's feast. I was at my Mom's house, where she lives with her second husband of 26 years, Sal. She is 86 years old and he is 5 years younger. Together they work as a Team to prepare holiday meals, from the antepasto prepared with his home-cured Pickled Peppers, to the made-from-scratch biscotti, egg biscuits, pies, etc. Naturally, these are all from recepies that my Mom's collected through the years, handed down from Great Aunts, Grandmothers and Godmothers.
Each time we celebrate Easter, Thanksgiving or Christmas Eve, I can't help but remember gatherings from the past in that same space. Yesterday, I was sitting in a rocking chair that my Dad used to occupy when he was still with us. All the Great Aunts and Uncles, Grandparents and Godparents are gone now, but at these times, they come alive again in my memories. It's a bittersweet feeling remembering and realizing just how much has changed, and how much I have changed.
Watching my Mom do the kitchen tasks she's done for most of her adult life still fascinates me, as she does them with such confidence and ease. However, as I watched her, the realization that she's in the Winter of her life and that there may not be too many more holiday gatherings ahead, made me sad for the moment. But then I began thinking what a full and rich life she's had, At that point, I began to celebrate her age and the fact that she's in excellent health, lucid, and is still very independent.
Living in gratitude is what I most want to accomplish this year and going forward in my life. I know that I am so thankful for the presence of my Mom in my life and for the fact that she is still having a life of quality. Because she has lived this long, she has given me an opportunity to see her as a parent, a person, and a woman, as I traveled through my 20's, 30's, 40's, 50's and now my 60's. With each decade, I saw her with "new eyes" influenced by my own development. She has been, and continues to be, the driving force behind my small family and as long as she lives, the child in me lives also.
I am also grateful for the life that I've had and the people who have come in and out of it, each leaving an impression on me, and contributing to make me who I am today. I am 64 years old and am grateful for living this long so I could learn the lessons I am leaning now. I hope your holiday was warm and rich and that you took a moment to remember holidays past. As Star Trek and Harry Potter taught us, no one is really gone if they still live in your heart.
