Thanksgiving

In 1974 my father accepted the call to become the pastor of the San Diego Church of the Brethren. My sister was already grown and had a family of her own. My brother was a freshman in college in Kansas. So at the age of 14, I was the only child that moved with my parents from Kansas to Southern California.

As Thanksgiving approached my mother decided that she didn't want to do the traditional thing. She didn't particularly like turkey, she hated football and she thought a family gathering of three would make her too sad. So she made ham sandwiches and we headed for a day exploring Julian and the surrounding area. We had a perfect, magical day that began a family tradition.
Over the next several years my brother and his wife and my grandparents moved to San Diego. The Thanksgiving moveable feast had been born and it continued. Once my grandmother got involved the meal was no longer a simple picnic. It became a Thanksgiving feast that had to be transported.
Then my Uncle's family moved to San Diego. A cousin came to California for college. My cousin from San Francisco would often come down for the day. Each year my mother would send out a detailed survey to all those who might want to attend. We could vote on where we wanted to eat our Thanksgiving meal: beach, mountains or desert.
When we went to the beach we spent much of the day exploring tide pools. If the desert was chosen we each had to have our picture taken by the cactus that most expressed our personality. Often we played cards or a competitive game of Boogle. It had all the marks of a good Thanksgiving Day, minus turkey and football.
When Bryan and I moved our family back to Southern California in 2002, Thanksgiving meals in the out of doors was one of the many things for which I looked forward. Bryan, however, loves turkey and football. Luckily for Bryan, the outdoor Thanksgiving doesn't happen every year. One year my mother's side of the family had a reunion on an island in Arizona over the Thanksgiving weekend. Bryan said he thought it sounded like fun, if I rented a convertible and drove him over. There is nothing like sharing a good meal with family, then jumping into a huge pool on a private island in the desert!
We don't always spend Thanksgiving with extended family. A couple years ago Matt was working in Flagstaff and it looked like he might spend Thanksgiving alone. So he went to him. Both of our boys became vegetarians after moving to California. Thanksgiving food always requires careful thought. So that year we ate fake chicken kabobs and then drove to the Grand Canyon.
This year we have a son living in S. Korea and one in England. For each of them Thanksgiving this year will be like just another Thursday. We are celebrating the day with extended family....eating turkey and maybe even watching some football.