Published: Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Thanksgiving tradition evolves as families evolve
It’s about kinship and warm memories, tantalizing aromas and time-honored tastes.
Of all the holidays, Thanksgiving bends most to tradition, down to the distinct side dishes served at each family’s table.
My childhood Thanksgivings were spent around my parents’ dining room table in Spokane. To get us out of the house while she cooked, my mother would send the three kids out with my dad for a long walk along High Drive. Cold and hungry, we’d come home to be instantly greeted by the season’s best scent, turkey in the oven. My grandmother and uncle would join us for dinner.
My mom made two kinds of stuffing, one with oysters to please our dad. There was pumpkin pie, but also pecan and mincemeat.
Once I settled here and had my own family, we sometimes drove to Spokane for Thanksgiving, and we’ll go again. More often, we stayed home, where the holiday has evolved into a casual, comfortable celebration.
I love Thanksgiving morning. My kids — whichever ones are home — hang out in their PJs watching the Macy’s Thanksgiving day parade while I stuff the turkey.
My late husband was a real cook. One year he made a savory Southwest cornbread stuffing, spiced with green chilies. These days, my menu is basic — turkey, sage stuffing, mashed potatoes, brussels sprouts — much like my mom’s.
I do make cranberry sauce, simmering the berries until they pop. That can-shaped jelled stuff is a better childhood memory than a turkey relish.
With all those yummy Thanksgiving thoughts, I almost forgot — this year, I’m throwing all that tradition out the window.
Thankfully, joyfully, my kids and I will gather this Thanksgiving at a new place. We’ll sit down with the new branch of our family tree. Married in May, my daughter and her husband (I’m still getting used to saying I have a son-in-law) will host the turkey dinner at their home in Seattle. My son-in-law’s parents are coming from Idaho.
I don’t have a clue whether or not the side dishes will be old favorites. This isn’t a year for tradition, it’s a year for beginnings.
The holidays, especially if you’ve lived more than half your life, can be wistful, nostalgic times. We miss homes we’ve left and loved ones we’ve lost. Sometimes all it takes is a snowy scene from a TV ad to bring on the homesickness.
This year, I’m celebrating a wonderful surprise. In all my years spent raising children, worrying about everything from chicken pox to college costs — and with an 11-year-old, I’m still at it — I missed seeing a future that was inevitably coming. Too busy, I guess.
An empty nest can turn the whole place blue. Two of my three have left home, and I miss them. Yet when one nest empties, another starts to fill. That’s where I’ll be Thanksgiving, in my daughter’s home with her new family.
Somehow, I always expected to be cooking at my house, with the same cast of characters around the Thanksgiving table. My family is growing, and I couldn’t be more thankful.
What a blessing it is to shake up tradition.
Julie Muhlstein: 425-339-3460, muhlstein@heraldnet.com.
Of all the holidays, Thanksgiving bends most to tradition, down to the distinct side dishes served at each family’s table.
My childhood Thanksgivings were spent around my parents’ dining room table in Spokane. To get us out of the house while she cooked, my mother would send the three kids out with my dad for a long walk along High Drive. Cold and hungry, we’d come home to be instantly greeted by the season’s best scent, turkey in the oven. My grandmother and uncle would join us for dinner.
My mom made two kinds of stuffing, one with oysters to please our dad. There was pumpkin pie, but also pecan and mincemeat.
Once I settled here and had my own family, we sometimes drove to Spokane for Thanksgiving, and we’ll go again. More often, we stayed home, where the holiday has evolved into a casual, comfortable celebration.
I love Thanksgiving morning. My kids — whichever ones are home — hang out in their PJs watching the Macy’s Thanksgiving day parade while I stuff the turkey.
My late husband was a real cook. One year he made a savory Southwest cornbread stuffing, spiced with green chilies. These days, my menu is basic — turkey, sage stuffing, mashed potatoes, brussels sprouts — much like my mom’s.
I do make cranberry sauce, simmering the berries until they pop. That can-shaped jelled stuff is a better childhood memory than a turkey relish.
With all those yummy Thanksgiving thoughts, I almost forgot — this year, I’m throwing all that tradition out the window.
Thankfully, joyfully, my kids and I will gather this Thanksgiving at a new place. We’ll sit down with the new branch of our family tree. Married in May, my daughter and her husband (I’m still getting used to saying I have a son-in-law) will host the turkey dinner at their home in Seattle. My son-in-law’s parents are coming from Idaho.
I don’t have a clue whether or not the side dishes will be old favorites. This isn’t a year for tradition, it’s a year for beginnings.
The holidays, especially if you’ve lived more than half your life, can be wistful, nostalgic times. We miss homes we’ve left and loved ones we’ve lost. Sometimes all it takes is a snowy scene from a TV ad to bring on the homesickness.
This year, I’m celebrating a wonderful surprise. In all my years spent raising children, worrying about everything from chicken pox to college costs — and with an 11-year-old, I’m still at it — I missed seeing a future that was inevitably coming. Too busy, I guess.
An empty nest can turn the whole place blue. Two of my three have left home, and I miss them. Yet when one nest empties, another starts to fill. That’s where I’ll be Thanksgiving, in my daughter’s home with her new family.
Somehow, I always expected to be cooking at my house, with the same cast of characters around the Thanksgiving table. My family is growing, and I couldn’t be more thankful.
What a blessing it is to shake up tradition.
Julie Muhlstein: 425-339-3460, muhlstein@heraldnet.com.
Comments
(
