Thanksgiving

Year after year celebrating Thanksgiving for me was always with the family and included, turkey, stuffing, and pie. It is an annually ritual that the whole family partakes in. Whether it was spent with my Mom or my Dad it was the same celebration of food and togetherness. It was always absolutely vital that each member of the family was together; interestingly it was a different focus of execution with my mother than with my father.

This year, I woke up early on Thanksgiving to spend the morning watching the parade. There was no real plan for the day. From the parade we went home and relaxed. My mother did not want to put aside the time to cook and prepare the traditional "feast" in our small kitchen. Therefore as an attempt to limit the losses my mother had the whole meal ordered and delivered directly into the fridge. She did not want the hassle of picking out all the ingredients, or dealing with the heavy bags all the way home, and the preparation and frustration to follow still. So dinner was all set. My aunt arrived later, adding to the chaos with her four kids, yelling and screaming as they came through the door. None of us were thinking about our clothes, we wore whatever we wanted. Everyone coming over was exciting and yes, it was loud and hectic but it was nice having both of the families come together. We had football on the television in the back round. The kids were playing together in our new apartment. No one had to worry about cooking anything; no one had to worry about time management. So instead of concentrating on the preparation of the food our focal point was each other. We sat around talking and just enjoyed each other’s company. When everyone was hungry, well, then dinner was simply unwrapped and heated. I would go on but my sister and I left before the main event of feasting happened. This year we were scheduled to spend with our Dad.

At my Dad’s house the celebration of Thanksgiving is a much longer and more thought-out process of production. The preparation for Thanksgiving starts as soon as it is November. My grandparents uncover all their tacky extravagant decorations. While the list is formed with everyone’s name is placed next to that is what they to bring to the dinner. The whole event is filled with traditions I don’t even know the meaning of. For example, someone is always responsible to arrive with banana bread. I have no idea where this tradition came from, nor do I have no objections to it. Also, the location of the feast rotates around the family. Unfortunately, this year it was set to take place at my Dad's house which comes with the tasks of playing the right music, having each room clean and presentable, and having enough room for people. So as you might imagine as soon as my sister and I got to the house we were put to work. We weren’t done until we were dressed in something appropriate for the occasion. Showing up in just anything you set yourself up for those deadly glares. One after the other after the other people started to arrive. My great grandmother who is 97 years old showed up by surprise. She was not feeling well, which was a good enough excuse to let her stay home. Even though she spent most of the night in the chair in the corner she was present. She was not the obvious lady she normally was. It was just nice to see her there though; everyone went over to her at least once to say hi. Usually being a very interacting lady I imagine she felt uncomfortable and helpless being talked down to. The fact alone that she was there seemed enough just to make her and other people happy. Another family member came all the way from California. His ticket was booked so far in advance because he too knew he needed to be there. A lot of faces I have never even seen before. My uncle had one of his really good friends tag along with him. Until Thanksgiving everyone had only ever heard about him. Which makes me curious why more people don’t spend thanksgiving with their friends? We are thankful for friends too. It was suddenly a bunch bigger crowd compared to the thanksgiving that was set up at my mother’s house. Which made the atmosphere more hectic by far and happy too.

The main focus point of our Thanksgiving was the food. Food was being prepared in my house all day long. People were bringing food. There were so many different types of dishes. Most of our conservations were based on where the food came from. People were asking about recipes. From beginning to end people told the stories about each of their creations. To talk about the food was honestly a bonding experience. A friend of the family brought a couple of vegetarian dishes. To be honest it did not look very good. She explained to me how easy it was. Although it you asked me to make it I probably couldn’t. I tried my best to be open-minded and to my surprise I did really like it. There was not a dish that was fried. However there were dishes that people just decided to buy, like the pie. The heavy task of making the banana bread was taken on by one of my uncles.

Illness and Dying

The common cold, cancer, diabetes. We have all had experiences involved some type of sickness. Weather it being a person we know or have experienced ourselves, it is bound to happen. So what do we do?

Ever heard of Advil, Tylenol, and exceberian? The common cure for the common symptoms. And if that is not good enough, there are other ways to cure our illnesses. We have doctors; the specialists who know rely on to know what’s wrong and how to fix it. What makes a doctor certified to say what’s wrong with someone? Do they always know the best cure? Can they fully understand what it is like to be the one who is ill? Along with doctors there are hospitals. The buildings that are coded with white halls and white walls. They’re spilt into different units, each designed to accommodate certain illnesses.

My five-year-old brother still afraid of doctors. At a young age I to remember being so afraid of the doctor. So convinced they wanted to hurt me. Their cartoon character uniforms were so misleading. Because little did my brother or I know the needle waiting to price our skin was being held close at hand.

I remember visiting my great aunt Dorothy in the hospital. Her body started to weaken due to her old age. My whole family went to see her. By that I mean my dad, sister, cousin and I. at that age the hospital was a terrifying place. I to my father afraid of what I might see if I looked around. I thought if you somehow ended up in the hospital something really must have been wrong with you. We walked down the solely colored white hallways. We came to my aunt’s room. Again painted white, there really was clingded isn't anything comforting about this place at all. The only symbol of happiness I saw was the flowers that lay beside her bed, and even they looked sad and uncomfortable. They looked like they had been there for a while because they to looked frail and weak. Which makes me wonder: why do people bring flowers to the sick? Why do are there always flowers at a funeral? My old tired aunt was lying in her small sized bed. When I saw her it was hard not to feel sorry for her. I was confused, didn't know how to act, what to say, what she wanted. And so, I didn’t dare start the conversation, I didn’t know how. What should I have said? So what’s life like in the hospital? Uh hey, how’s the food in this place? To avoid the awkward situation, and possibly humiliating one I just kept my mouth shut. My father started with something like how you feeling? Or good to see you. Further n the conversation she just came right out and said it: I know im dying. It was a thought that crossed everyone’s mind, but no one wanted to believe it let alone hear it is said. How could she say it so casually? I stood there appalled, still at a loss of words. The entire visit she would make comments like that. She was completely aware and readily prepared to face whatever was in her future. Death is inevitable, she accepted that. I was inspired by the way she spoke without any fear. She must have known what she was talking about because she died 2 weeks later.

Can a person know? How does a person prepare for such an event?