I have quite a lot of backtracking to do here, even just to catch major highlights. But I wanted to try to catch up before the holidays overtake us.
Thanksgiving was pretty incredible. Considering I was the one directing the cooking with more than a few substitutes: chicken for turkey, white sweet potatoes for orange, green bean casserole from scratch, stuffing from scratch…with some prepping assistance from Thida, it turned out alright!
On Thursday we had a family day & a family meal. We made turkeys with handprints. We wrote down the things we are thankful for on leaves, including elephants three times per Oak’s request. We’re really thankful there are elephants in the world.
Friday, following our usual Flour & Flowers day and Playhouse, we had Family Dinner with an American Thanksgiving twist. We set out tables and chairs; we used tablecloths and flowers. We purchased rotisserie chickens in lieu of $60 turkeys, and they were likely the biggest hit. It directed the table seating.
Thida and I worked together to make green bean casserole, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, scalloped corn, wheat dinner rolls, stuffing, & pumpkin pie. Everyone tried it all, with the stuffing & scalloped corn topping the favorites list.
It felt so nice.
We then played a Spoons Tournament, a great option for various ages and literacy levels. It made for lots of laughs, and again, brought in family traditions and a bit of my culture. This is how we celebrated holidays in my family: meals and games together.
My favorite moment was when Thida ended up in a group with three of her kids; they’d beat her each time, and they were all rolling with laughter.
While we haven’t done a Western holiday quite so successfully before, it feels like we are finally figuring out how to invite our friends into our culture as well. For so long we really worked to know theirs and embrace it; and now we’re figuring out how to introduce them to ours.
It’s a really beautiful dance. And we’re thankful for that–and elephants!
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