Wings to Fly — 17

Memoir Index

Thanksgiving Tradition

On November 20, 1983 Christian was born. I believe that thanksgiving was two days later that year. I thought I would have to be home and miss a very special holiday. My mother-in-law said, “How about we have Thanksgiving at your house. I’ll do all the cooking. You invite everyone and we will all enjoy the holiday gathering AND Christian.”

Thus our Thanksgiving family tradition began. Every year afterwards, all of Kim family and all of Neill family in Chicago land area would gather at our home. My Ohio sister-in-law Patricia and her family started to join us. Sometimes my Texas sister-in-law Yvonne joined us and others from California would join us. It soon became the favorite holiday for my children. There were so many children running around. Paul and Mary who did not have children at that time came on Wednesday evening and kicked off our holiday. As their family grew to three children and a dog, sometimes they still came on the eve of the Thanksgiving. Oh how our children looked forward to those times.

Mary and I made the Turkey and dressing and everyone else brought a dish or two to create a feast. There was so much food that we could not fit it all on the tables. The number of people would continue to grow as the young people got married and already married couples started to have more children. As our families grew, we needed three long tables between dining room and the living room.

Who would have thought that a birth of a child could have created a wonderful family tradition?