Potential

12 years ago, the saddest Thanksgiving occurred. My dad died a month before and everyone sort of went their own way for the holiday. I found myself with just my little brother on Turkey Day. Even though it was just the 2 of us, I still wanted to cook us a huge feast. I cooked all morning and by lunch time, everything was ready. We sat down together and ate the giant spread I prepared. In 15 minutes it was over. I cooked for 4 hours for a 15 minute lunch. While it was sweet to have that time with my little brother, I was very sad to have made so much food for so little people. I missed our family. Cleaning up the leftovers only emphasized how lonely our day had been.

Every year before and since that sad Thanksgiving has been filled with family. My grandmother, mom, and aunts prepare turkey and every southern side dish you can imagine. We eat at lunch time then watch movies, talk about Christmas, plot Black Friday shopping strategies, and remember times together in the past. It's fun. I always look forward to it because I know how precious it is to be with family on holidays.

Tomorrow has the potential to be a sad Thanksgiving. It's our first holiday in California away from our families. I am determined to recreate our usual yearly feast with turkey, sweet potato casserole, and Nana's tea punch. Plus a whole lotta other yummy sides and desserts. I'm taking this opportunity to create new memories and traditions with our girls instead of focusing on being so far away from our families. We are going to eat at lunch time, say what we're thankful for, and put up our Christmas tree.

Today, I'm not dwelling on my homesickness. Instead, I'm getting excited about shaping my girls' Thanksgiving memories. Maybe I can talk JD into a walk on the beach. I might have to conjure up some tears for that... Tomorrow has the potential to be a very sad Thanksgiving, but I'm going to give it my all to make it a happy one.