Who put the overalls in Mrs. Murphy's chowder?

Every Thanksgiving when I was a kid, I would go to my Grandmother's house. I loved it, the olives and pickles, the turkey, the company. I really liked listening to the adults talking, the cadence of their voices was comforting and familiar, even if I didn't understand the subject matter. Around the table afterwards, they would sing all these songs they grew up with, and I think that was my favourite part of all. It's difficult to say why, but I think it's mostly because of the sense of history and deep family ties, combined with the joy of everyone being together to share the day.
I miss them all today, and I wish I could be with them, but I have my own small family gathering here at home.

The last few weeks I've been thinking of the name of the day. Thanksgiving. I can understand the ritual of eating a lot of food on this day. We at our base, resonate with food the best.. when we were babies, it was our main way of being comforted. It represents stability, home, hearth, family, safety. I have a lot to be thankful for today. My beautiful child, my splendid husband, our home, our extended families. We have enough (and more) to eat and we can feel comfortable that we won't starve the rest of the year. I can think back to years when we were barely scraping by, but we could pause to have this day with each other anyway.

I write this with my child laughing in the background, and think with great fondness of Thanksgivings past and with great joy to ones coming up in the future. I love my family, and hope that they can wrap this day around them like a blanket, to keep themselves warm.

Love always,
Autumn