A different kind of Thanksgiving

As we work out way through middle age, the holidays begin to take on different meaning. I’m certain this will continue as our children grow older as well. For now, like many middle age folks, we straddle the generations – older and younger. This was a year of loss for us – my father, my wife’s uncle – and as a result, the holidays take on a different tenor. Thanksgiving always was an “Uncle Jimmy holiday,’’ so we were kind of at a loss as to what to do this year. Our niece, who attends Williams College, decided to spend the holiday with some college friends in northern New England, which made a lot of sense. This, however, added to our bewilderment. Then, over family dinner last Sunday night, a plan began to unfold. Oddly enough, one of my ideas was deemed acceptable – we would have our “Thanksgiving dinner” as a fancier family dinner, on Wednesday night. This freed up our Thanksgiving Day to visit my mother in New Jersey. We had cold cuts sandwiches in the soon-to-be-sold old house, and then started the process of packing up family belongings and weeding out things before the closing. It was odd, it was surreal, but we were all together, which is really all that matters around the holidays. In a year of loss, we are reminded of the many blessings we have – past, present and future – and thankful for each and every one of them.