Happy Thanksgiving!!

I love this time of year! There is something about the holidays that can evoke hope and joy. A greater since of pause and of coming together around what matters most - family, relationships, community and showing love and generosity toward each other. Currently, my family is all the way out on the west coast and we’re all the way down south in Atlanta! I miss being with them all for the holidays and tend to reminisce a lot come November and December about past family celebrations and traditions.

As a little girl I’d dream of Thanksgiving and Christmas Day and all the family that would gather. My mom came from a larger family - 6 kids - and when they all came together - aunts and uncles, cousins, grandparents, and sometimes a few neighbors as well, it was seriously the most fun. We all lived in Oregon for the most part so family hangs were easy to do! My dad came from a family of 4 kids and they are all equally as fun to be with and celebrate with! My dad’s family lives in the WA and we spent more time with them during the summer months. Im so grateful to have grown up with healthy family relationships on both sides.

For the Holidays, so many thoughtful details and planning went into bringing the family together. And food was always at the center of our gatherings!

I love how food begs the invitation to gather; come to the table, pull up a chair and sit down and talk for awhile, or grab a plate and go watch the game in the other room. Food comforts, establishes tradition, offers new experiences, and adds layers to the memory making.

I’ll always remember my mom in the kitchen rolling out those pie crusts so perfectly and beautifully for our Thanksgiving and Christmas feasts. Apple, pumpkin, lemon and chocolate meringue. Her pies were the best and most delicious! And while I did not inherit her pie making skills, pie at a holiday gathering always takes me back to those moments in the kitchen with her!

We even had a few fires! Yes, in the fire place. But also in the oven when the turkey juices spilled out of the roasting pan onto the element below and erupted into flames! I can still see my mom, my grandma , and my Aunt Debbie bent over with pot holders and baking soda - dousing the flames with baking soda, using the baster to empty some of the drippings out of pan, and fanning the smoke with pot holders. The turkey, and the oven, survived and we enjoyed a great feast that day!

A big spread. A casual meal. Order in or dinner out. It doesn’t really matter. Gather friends and family together, throw some good eats and good drinks on the table, and celebrate life!

Those three ladies that put out the turkey fire that day - they’re all hanging out together in Heaven now! I can only imagine the fun, the joy and the beauty of what they now experience.

But It also makes me want to gather my people together all the more! Maybe take another crack at baking a pie. Build tradition, love well, be generous, show gratitude, and celebrate everything!

I hope my life and hospitality create memories like I have for my own children and family and friends so that when I’m done here and find myself in Heaven with Jesus, there will be sweet, fun, life giving memories that I will have been a part of and helped create!

Let’s not wait! It doesn’t have to be a birthday, a holiday, or some momentous occasion. If you’re waiting for that big event before you get together with others and raise a glass...wait no more! Celebrate the small things, celebrate that we’re alive, celebrate that we get to spend time with others, celebrate everything! The days go too fast, life is too short not to. Let’s celebrate now! With the holidays upon us, we all have a great reason to extend an invitation.

And if needed for this unique year we find ourselves in, create that socially distanced opportunity to gather safely. Be creative, have fun and bring some joy to those around you.

Happy Holiday Season! Let’s celebrate!