We are a little more than a week away from Thanksgiving, I thought I’d share my thoughts on the dinner table. My memories of Thanksgiving was a looking forward to eating foods we only ate for that one special day of the year. I loved watching my Mom prepare the homemade potatoes for the most deliciousss mashed potatoes I’ve ever had in my life. Watching her seemingly perfect timing of cooking each part of the meal so that everything would be hot & ready at the same time… I marvel at my Mom’s ability to cook amazing meals with what I perceived as great ease.
Me on the other hand, is a quite different story. I somehow missed the “domestic” gene. Maybe sound familiar? I’ve always felt kind of bad for my kids, that my mashed potatoes weren’t as “perfect” as Moms were… that I didn’t prepare every part of the meal from scratch. Know why? Because my gift is different than Mom’s was. I love design. I love fashion design, interior design… home design! So each year I get jazzed to come up with a unique dinner table that gets noticed, using my creativity. And over the years I’ve gotten the kids involved too. For example, I remember asking them how we should display the names by each place setting and every year they came up with a new way. And to the best of my ability, I would do what I could to get them whatever they needed (i.e. leaves w permanent marker, corks with safety pins, blank cards we folded over into homemade place cards with each family member writing their name and decorating their place card and so many more ideas)
And ya know what I’ve come to realize? It’s A-OK that I don’t cook with the finesse of my Mom!!! My family enjoys a meal together, we celebrate all that we’re thankful for… together and it’s a beautiful time. I AM creating memories that will last long after I’m gone. It’s the togetherness.. the love… the thankfulness that counts the most!
So what are you planning for this year’s Thanksgiving? Are you an amazing chef like my Mom? Or are you the creative type that plans Thanksgiving day games? Or are you the one who starts the thankfulness statements going around the table?
Thanksgiving dinner is a time to reflect on how thankful we are on that day and every other day in the year. Focusing on your family, creating special bonded moments will last a lifetime and there’s no one right way to create them. So this Thanksgiving, may you thoroughly enjoy this special day with those you love, with no pressure, just enjoying all that you’re thankful for. What a beautiful holiday!
To your beautiful Thanksgiving!