Day 28 The Day After Thanksgiving

Blame it on the tryptophan.
Blame it on the quiet that descended as the last guest left last night.
Blame it on memories of Thanksgivings past.

To everything there is a season …. holidays have their anticipatory excitement and all good things must end doldrums. 

I'm feeling rather sluggish today. Just thinking about shoppers waiting in line for Black Friday sales this morning makes me tired. The sun is setting while a small breeze causes the elephant ears in the back yard to sway. 

As I put away Mama's gold trimmed china this morning, I was aware of missing her. I'd felt it resting on my shoulder for most of yesterday, too. She's been gone for 12 years. That's 12 Thanksgivings, 12 birthdays and 12 Christmases we have had without her.  Even when she still sat in her traditional place at the head of the table, I did the cooking so it's not like I haven't had practice being the Thanksgiving Maven. I wanted her to be the Maven.

I realized last night that there has been a changing of the guard in the family dynamics. The next generation has taken over the table conversations, which did not include politics or dividing lines. My nephew even noted that he's made it to the adult end of the table while his mom, step dad, Sweetie and I were seated at what used to be the children's table. The boys men discussed giant TV screens at the football stadium and hipsters. When I admitted I don't know what a "hipster" is, cell phones were whipped out to show pictures of modern millennials who wear straight legged pants they buy at thrift stores and carry a satchel bag. I'm pretty sure there's more to being a hipster than that, but I couldn't tell you what. It seems there is a hipster movement in the Bold New City of the South where I live. Who knew?  Without a doubt there is going to be some cultural shock between the hipsters and the good ol' boys.

While the conversation was beyond my comprehension, the laughter appeared to bounce off the painted family tree in the background and echo back into the room where 3 generations have share a holiday meal since 1962.

I loved having the small group of in town family here. Still I was nostalgic for the years when many more of us were together, where conversations went on in every room of the house and one had to visit each one to keep up with all the goings on. When I saw the news reports of the icky weather, flight delays and cancellations, I wondered to myself why people put themselves through that hassle. As I peeled the potatoes in silence, my questions were answered. I think it should be a rule that holiday kitchens bustle with activities shared by many. The more the merrier should be a holiday motto.

While I'm on my things-that-have-changed-when-I-wasn't-looking rant, what's up with the Macy's parade? What happened to the camera eye view of floats and balloons coming down the avenue? I'm not a fan of the staged events in front of the NBC headquarters.

It all adds up, I'm a  sad to say, to feeling old. Not so old that I'm the one sitting on the couch complaining of all the noise. But old enough to hold fast to traditions that I'm not ready to change. At 62 years old, I still wish Mom was in the kitchen, Dad was drinking coffee at the breakfast table, and I was sitting in front of the magical parade waiting anxiously awaiting the first sight of Santa.

All that said, I'm grateful for the family, food, and laughter.
What was the best part of your day?
Merry ME

Comments

Joy said…
Hi Mary! I so enjoy your posts. The best part of my day of Thanksgiving was that it was peaceful. This after a frenzy of conflicts with our mother the preceding week. So peaceful was what I hoped for and it reigned! This was a year when nieces and their children went to their other side of their families. So it was my parents, my sister and husband and me and my husband. Change surely does parade right in front of us each year and continues down the street making way for the next wave of change. I too have fond memories of "the way it was"!
November 29, 2014 at 6:31 PM
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