thanksgiving

when i think of thanksgiving, i think of my uncle. his personality, and his stature, were larger than life and he infused that into everything he did. thanksgiving was the perfect venue for him to gather us together for a day dedicated to family. he was always had a story to tell, and we loved nothing more than listening to how he tracked down the fancy organic turkey, why he was making an apple pie from scratch, or how to use his new electric craving knife.

when i arrived for the big day each year, the group of people was eclectic and always seemed to change a bit from the previous gathering. anyone was welcome and everyone who came was made a part of the family -- no matter what their last name. even though my mom and dad divorced over twenty years ago, she still attends thanksgiving with his family. once the merrill clan gets you, you are there for life.

before the meal, there was always some project for the men to do -- and it usually had to do with my uncle's boat. there was always a chance, if the weather wasn't too cold, that we could go for one last boat ride of the season. then the men would work outside as the women sat inside gazing out through the wall of windows that looked out on the backyard, the dock, and the ocean. we would munch on snacks until we got bored of watching them work and returned to our own conversations.

once we sat down for the meal, my uncle always had a conversation topic that he wanted to bring up. he usually launched into it after we had stuffed ourselves with food but were still sitting around the table waiting for my dad to finish his last plateful of turkey. one year, he wanted to talk about the bird flu. we all scoffed and rolled our eyes. why were we talking about the oversensationalized flu? but as a trustee of a local university, he was worried about what his school had to do to prepare in case of outbreak. so we all thought about it a little more and everyone was encouraged to contribute. i wonder if any of our ideas are being implemented today at that university with the advent of the swine flu.

if christmas represents a spirit, thanksgiving represents ideals. it is accessible to anyone in america who chooses to celebrate. it reminds us of pilgrims who struggled through a long harvest to reap a successful crop. it forces us to think about how the pilgrims treated the natives. it inspires us to treat our neighbors like family. it allows us the opportunity to share passion and work ethic with our best friends. it pushes us to have conversations about things that we might not normally think about. thanksgiving is inclusive, hardworking, and thought-provoking.

when i think of thanksgiving, i think of my uncle.