Thanksgiving Traditions

Do you have 'em? I was writing a friend today and it occurred to me that I don't have much Thanksgiving tradition. I was trying to think, and the best thing that I can come up with is that I have always had Thanksgiving dinner with my parents. That has been the one constant over the past 28 years. The location has varied, and the number of participants has varied. But my parents have remained constant. Some people play football every year on Thanksgiving Day. Some people get up early enough to watch a parade. I guess I eat dinner with my parents. So I suppose that is my tradition.

As I've been typing this, a thought has crossed my mind. And the thought is that some people don't care about tradition. Some people are just concerned about where their next meal will come. Some children are wondering whether they will see an absent parent. And some parents are hoping that they will see a wayward child. So while tradition is nice, it shouldn't rule the day because of it's presence (or lack thereof).

And I also suppose traditions change. When I get married (it's when people, not if!), my wife and I will have to figure out a way to combine our various traditions, not just for Thanksgiving, but for the other 364 days of the year. And so there will be new traditions. It may suck to have give up some traditions in compromise, but we'll manage.

So I'm not gonna fret this weekend. I'm not gonna be concerned about whether other people are having more "fun" than I am. I'm not gonna worry cuz I don't have money to do some black Friday Christmas shopping. I'm just gonna be thankful for what I have.