This Thanksgiving was a bit difficult for me. At 32 years old, I've never spent Thanksgiving without my parents. Even when Caleb was born in New York, my parents came up north for Caleb's birth and then stayed on till after Thanksgiving. So this morning, I woke up with my husband in Hong Kong, no Macy's Day Parade, no roasting pan out being filled with stale bread for stuffing, no smell of onions and celery being sauted in butter, no mom and dad. Thankfully, our FRG had a Thanksgiving potluck. I started my morning baking loaves of bread that rose over night and preparing green bean cassarole and candid yams. I was so glad to have somewhere to go, people to spend the time with. That's what I was most thankful for today, my family away from family. That's the one thing that I've learned being a military family that you have to be able to accept friends as your temporary family and hope that they will always be a part of your life. I've been very blessed in having families away from family all over the world now. And I just want to say to you all that I love having your friendship and support. I love you all so much. And to my mom and dad, I missed you dearly and recounted all our traditions. It's funny...when you do certain things you don't really think of them as traditions, but when it's missing, you definitely feel like all those little things are traditions. All those things like; giving a toast at dinner, sitting around the table with a cup of coffee pulling bread apart for stuffing, getting out of doing some tasks to watch the Macy's day parade, the card and board games that are played after everyone has digested food and taken a nap, the beautiful table setting we always use...the pictures of the meal that never seem to change year after year...except this year. The pictures are different, the meal was a bit different (there was some sushi) and the people were different. But it still had the same meaning, that everyone came together to be thankful for something, whether is was for good health or money in their pocket, or for having somewhere to spend the holiday. It was a meal and time that I am thankful for being able to enjoy.
Here are some of the pictures from around this year's table.
Amy, me, and Jen
Riley had some mashed potatoes, which he didn't seem to enjoy very much.
"It's gossip time around the cooler"
These are the boys..Amy's son Zachary, Jen's son John, and mine.
This is the only picture I got of Caleb looking at me. He was on the go the whole time we were there with all his little friends.
Happy Thanksgiving to you all. May you continue to be thankful the whole year through.
6 comments:
I so feel you!!! When you are not at home it just doesn't feel as much like Thanksgiving. Ours too was not what I expected. But, like you, we had our family away from family over for dinner and that helped tremendously! And even though Terry was here, for all the help/company he gave to me while I slaved away-he may as well have been in Hong Kong! Happy Thanksgiving!
Happy Thanksgiving!
Even though we miss our family back home we had a great time too!!
I agree. Those Thanksgivings away from family are tough. Since we moved to DC seven years ago, this is our second with family. We went back the first time because Drew's mom was dying. This time was so much happier.
I miss you tons! Happy Thanksgiving.
It sounds like even though you missed all your traditions with your family and friends back home, you still were able to celebrate with your new friends and family. Im glad you had support, and it sounds like you all had such a great tme. I know I missed you dearly that day wondering how you were doing without Shawn, and your parents. What beautiful picture of you and your two girlfriends!! You always look great, and you dont even realize it. Love ya, Happy late Thanksgiving!!!
These are the memories that we give our children.
Rachael--you are now 'in charge' of those memories! Some day, Caleb and Riley will be remembering these holidays with you! Make them as special as your mom and dad made them for you!
It may seem like forever but before you know it, you will be back close to family.
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