Smells of autumnal delights float through the air to wake up the Calvert family on Thanksgiving morning. My mom is always hard at work whipping up a wonderful feast…I think I need to help her this year—it’s time to grow up…we lounge around in our pj’s until the very last second—a few minutes 'til noon—and then throw on something presentable before strangers/soon-to-be friends, arrive. You see, I grew up in West Virginia with the closest relative living over 9 hours away. So, to make our holidays more full of love, my parents would randomly select other people whom they knew didn’t have a family to go home to. One year it was our friend Gwen and her friend from work. Another year it was Ted, a recent widower. And still another year a woman my mom adopted as her mom-away-from-home and all her kids. Whichever year it was, there was always guaranteed new friends for which to be thankful.
One tradition my dad began years ago was passing an ear of dried corn around and having everyone pull out a few kernels. During the cold winter months the pilgrims sometimes only had a few kernels of corn to get by on! For each kernel that we grabbed we were to share something we were thankful for. It’s always helped keep a grateful perspective on the delicious food we are about to dive into.
I will look forward to carrying on these traditions as I grow older and have a family for my own. This year we will head back to WV to yet again make new friends and be thankful for what God has given us. We are SO blessed!!!