Is It Thanksgiving Yet?

November 29, 2014 – Is it Thanksgiving Yet?

Oops!  This was supposed to be my pre-Thanksgiving post, but I’m obviously running a little behind schedule.  No need to stress out, however.  There’s just more to tell you.  It’s no surprise that I so busy getting ready for the holiday that I didn’t have time to sit down at the computer.  It seems as if my Thanksgiving preparations started earlier than usual this year.  As soon as the stores started featuring the traditional Thanksgiving foods (which was right after Halloween), I began my grocery shopping in earnest.  Over the past few weeks, I made daily trips to Trader Joe’s, Wegman’s, or one of the other supermarkets in the area.  Sometimes I even went to Trader Joe’s twice in a single day. 

In addition to getting ready for some major cooking, I also had to put the guest rooms back in order.  We had taken out all the downstairs furniture before we had the new floor installed.  And then the painters came last week, so the downstairs guestroom was looking pretty bare, with just a chest of drawers.  If we hauled in the bed from the garage, at least Elisa and Christian would have a place to sleep when they arrived on Tuesday, but I wanted the guestroom to look more inviting.  Thank goodness for IKEA.  Elliott and I dashed down there Monday morning.  It didn’t take long to fill up a shopping cart with assorted furnishings (new bed linens, lamps, curtains, rugs, etc.).  We even had plenty of time left over for Elliott to fill up his tummy with a lunch of Swedish meatballs and lingonberries. 

Wednesday started with a final grocery run for pies and New England cod.  Elisa’s helped by setting the dining room table.  And with her encouragement, I also got rid of a lot of unnecessary items that had accumulated in the upstairs guestroom where my brother and sister-in-law would be staying.  It had become the unofficial Room Where Miscellaneous Stuff Gets Dumped (and then forgotten).  For example, I found boxes full of old videocassette tapes that had already been digitized.  With less clutter, the room certainly looked a lot better. 

Elliott getting a few extra calories at Whole Foods two days before Thanksgiving

Cooking began in earnest on Wednesday evening and continued for several hours on Thursday.  While all of this activity was going on at home, Elliott helped by staying out our way.  I squeezed in a trip to Greenspring to pick up my mother around mid-day on Thursday.  My brother and sister-in-law, who drove down from New York, arrived early in the afternoon.  Matt came over and took charge of seasoning the sweet potato oven fries (good job!).  Our friend Judy, accompanied by our favorite canine, also joined us for the Thanksgiving feast.  Of course, everyone ate a lot.  We also ate a lot of leftovers on Friday.  So how is it possible that half a chocolate cream pie and nearly three quarters of an apple pie are still sitting in my refrigerator?  

Ready to sit down for Thanksgiving dinner

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday, but I felt a little differently about it this year, thanks to what I’ve learned in my Native American and Indigenous Studies class at GMU.   

Like most Americans my age, I associate the Thanksgiving holiday with soberly dressed Pilgrims in tall buckled hats and Indians with feathers made out of construction paper.  As far back as elementary school, we learned about the Pilgrims’ search for religious freedom, their voyage on the Mayflower and landing at Plymouth Rock, the beginnings of democracy in the Americas (the Mayflower Compact), and those helpful Indians who showed the Pilgrims how to plant corn and later shared their harvest meal.  Thanks to the Indians, the Pilgrims survived and more European settlers arrived in the Americas.  Our history classes taught us how the colonies gained their independence, how the U.S. grew bigger and stronger, fought wars (including against those pesky Indians), and sent a man to the moon.  But the long-term impact of European settlement on the Native American population wasn’t part of the story in our textbooks.

Now, of course, I’ve had an opportunity to learn about the cultures of indigenous peoples before the arrival of Europeans and to understand the devastating consequences of European settlement in the Americas.  No wonder that for Native Americans, our Thanksgiving Day is a day of mourning rather than a day of celebration.  It signals the beginning of the end of their way of life.  First the explorers and then the settlers brought diseases that nearly eradicated the native population.  From the very beginning, Native Americans were faced with prejudice, condescension, and broken promises on the part of Europeans.   Government leaders who proclaimed freedom and equality instituted policies that led to mass removal of Indians from their homelands, and destruction of their families, languages and culture.  These actions resulted in a shameful legacy of poverty, unemployment, disease, and substance abuse.  There’s no question that my previous education didn’t expose me to these troubling aspects of American history.  

By the turn of the 20^th century, the Indian presence had become invisible as far as many Americans were concerned.  Right here in Virginia, many residents would be amazed to learn that there are actually Indians living in our state today.  Lately, however, I’ve noticed a number of newspaper and magazine article calling attention to the shameful living conditions on many Indian reservations and the myriad problems that continue to plague Native American communities today.

So this year, Thanksgiving gave me a lot to think about. Although Turkey Day has come and gone, I hope the spirit of gratitude will continue throughout the year so that very single day becomes a day of thankfulness.  One of the many things I’m thankful for is my safe and comfortable home with its newly renovated kitchen, bathrooms and lower level.  Although we seem to be running a squirrel and mouse hotel in our attic, I’m grateful that the raccoons have not moved in.  On a more serious note, I’m thankful with all my heart for my wonderful family and the love we share.  We are so fortunate that we were able to be together to celebrate two recent special occasions:  Elisa and Christian’s first anniversary, and Elisa’s 30^th birthday.  

Salted caramel crunch cake at Choices by Shawn in Fairfax - and Elisa and Christian

Elliott and Matt at Elisa's 30th birthday dinner

I’m grateful that my mother, whose mind continues to deteriorate, still finds pleasure in seeing her children and grandchildren.  I’m very, very thankful for Elliott’s love and companionship.  In spite of frequent nerve pain in his legs and chronic back pain, he has been out taking short walks and even blowing leaves on occasion.  Considering everything, I feel like the luckiest woman in the world.