31 Days - "Thankmas" - Day 31

Ducky Dynasty amazes me.  I can watch the reruns and laugh just as hard if not harder than I did the first time that I watched it.  Some people say these guys are for real others say it's staged. I say I don't care. They are funny.  Uncle Si totally cracks me up.  I think every family should have an Uncle Si in it. Don't you?  Family gatherings would never be the same. That's the thing about the Robertson's. Family is important to them.  They work together. The guys hunt together. The ladies cook together. They all come together to eat and they pray together. We are in a society where many families don't live near each other anymore.  We are spread out everywhere.  When I grew up my mom's parents lived less than a mile away and my dad's parents lived less than three miles from us. Now our grandparents are gone and my immediate family is spread out. One of my sisters lives in Romania. That's not just around the corner. It even gets trickier around the holidays. Right?  And with the holidays right here everyone is making plans. Who is going where, what time are we getting together, are we eating here or there, etc??? Many questions arise and sometimes feelings get hurt in the process.

My dad's family started a new tradition after the passing of my Mawmaw in 2009. It was just too hard to think about having the same traditions without her there.   The entire family had always had lunch together on Thanksgiving day and then breakfast on Christmas morning at her house. Now she and the house were gone and we had to come up with what to do.  So my aunt came up with what we now call "Thankmas."  The extended family, aunts, uncles, cousins, children, grandchildren all get together at my aunt Sonja's on a day between Thanksgiving and Christmas. It works for us and we have a great time together.  Traditions sometimes have to change. It's not always easy but circumstances dictate sometimes doing something different.  "Thankmas" is our new tradition.

As you go about your planning this holiday season, try to keep your emotions in check. As you prepare your table, prepare you heart also.  Remember when you have everyone around your table that it's not about how beautiful the table looks or how masterfully the turkey was carved or how perfectly the potatoes were mashed (inside joke). It's about who you are with.  We aren't promised tomorrow. Make a memory and make it a good one.

Until we meet again,

Fifi

This is the last day of the 31 Day Series.  Thanks to www.thenester.com for hosting.  It has been an incredible challenge for me and one I didn't think I could accomplish.  Thank you readers for being so gracious to read each day.  With love, Fifi  

"Love and family can get you through anything." Miss Kay