What Makes Thanksgiving?
It’s Thanksgiving, the beginning of the holiday season. I remember growing up that Thanksgiving was the day we would see the first Christmas commercials. It was the day Santa was ussured in at the end of the Macy’s parade. It was a day to sit and relax with family and friends. We’d go out to the church camp and spend the day with a potluck meal.
As I’ve grown, family and friends have stayed the mainstay for the holidays. Last year, I wanted to have a relaxing Thanksgiving. So I talked with each of my kids as to what made Thanksgiving for them. We came up with a list of foods and I fixed them. When we went to sit down, the boys were upset. I tried to figure out the frustration and found that it wasn’t food that made the holiday but people coming over. Fortunately for us, my parents and our oldest son and his girlfriend showed up early for dessert and were there while we had our meal.
It was this strong basis of family and friends that I drew from when I wrote the Dragon Courage series. I wanted to give my kids a taste of normalcy and put it in a different place. The interactions of the characters throughout the series come from interactions I’ve had with my own kids and my own family. The scenes around the dinner table are straight from my own dinner table. The toddler complaining while mom fixes a meal is exactly what happened with my young ones. Only at meal time did they need mom. They were fine until I walked into the kitchen. Then they were clinging to my legs. It’s rather difficult to fix a meal with a two and a three year old attached to either leg.
So, as you go about your holiday season this year. Remember your family and friends. Spend time with them. Make memories that will last. Play a game together, read them a book, watch a fun movie together. Whatever you do, enjoy them. If you were like me growing up and your family is miles away, find friends or others who need family and be their family. There is always someone who needs some family.
