This year’s Thanksgiving presented me with a unique opportunity to make up a new tradition with my family. Forget all that noise about how Native Americans were usurped by colonists; we celebrate Thanksgiving for exactly what it means: All of the things we have gratitude for. Since moving to California, I’ve left lifelong traditions with one half of my family to join traditions of the other half of my family. As of late though, even these new traditions I had joined had become no longer viable. Thus I was nominated to orchestrate a gathering and feast for Thanksgiving!
There were a few uncertainties. There was no matriarch to plan for and cook the meal. We weren’t sure if my brother would be in or out of jail. We weren’t even sure if we wanted to cook or go out for dinner, and between the five of us we had one vegetarian and several lactose intolerants and gluten-frees. It all came together though; my brother’s trial was postponed until after the New Year. The day and night before Thanksgiving, we all decided we would go cook at my Dad’s house. My brother’s girlfriend and I made a menu and agreed to cook together, even though either of us have ever prepared a Thanksgiving feast before.
It was beautiful to watch and be a part of all of us figuring out how our energies fit together and mingled, and to balance one another out. We figured out how three cooks could use a small kitchen at once, and how we could time using the burners and having the turkey in and out of the oven all at once. We juggled all this plus beautiful conversation and getting to know one another. AND one of the most awesome parts for me was the powerfully nostalgic Matrix Soundtrack (which we used to play on road trips when I was a kid) playing in the background.
The other awesome part was that my brother’s girlfriend and I had a chance to matriarch (yes its a verb now). This was very powerful feeling, as it was as if we were picking up the ball that no one was sure how to play with, and in doing so we became empowered to make choices that brought us the highest joy. We all held the space for us to drop our guards and be open. After cooking together, offering our gratitudes and eating, we all took a walk around the block to check out the full moon and digest before coming back inside for ice cream. And THAT, my friends, is how you create a tradition.
Check out our book The Word 2.0 for some perspective about the biblical women who ran the show in Jesus’ time!
Hope you all had a Beautiful Celebration,
Sonya
