Thanksgiving

Having not been able to go home and see my family for some time, I found myself appreciating this Thanksgiving a bit more than I usually do. (Don't get me wrong, I always love Thanksgiving--this one just happened to be particularly important to me.)

It began fairly mundanely--I'd slept on the couch the night before, my room having a rather nauseating kerosene odor from my father's Christmas present hidden in my bedroom by my mother. I generally have a pretty deep appreciation for couches, and this time was no different, as I fell asleep listening to the sounds of the house around me and looking outside at the beautiful night--while curled up under an afghan that kept me warm countless times growing up.

I awoke to my sister coming in the door. For those who know my sister well, you'll understand why. For those who don't, well, my sister is generally quite good at making it known where she is. I love it--the house is too quiet without her sometimes. I rolled off the couch, got dressed, and we started cooking. Well, I started cooking--Mom had been up at 4am to start the turkey. We munched on things my sister brought (pumpkin dip + gingerbread cookies + pears = yum), worked on cooking, chatted, napped (0kay, that one was just me), and other such beautiful trivialities.

Yount family Thanksgiving was at our house, so a bit before noon the gang traipsed in--Grandma and Debbie long before everyone else, Bill and Dawn next, and uncle Ed, aunt Sandy, uncle Lee, cousin Missy, and her ex-fiance/friend Juan (Missy's a complicated child). Heath came in from hunting with his dad (or, rather, taking the guns for a walk) at some point, and joined the revelry. Dinner commenced as usual, with Mom and Uncle Lee making their traditional jabs at each others' eating habits, Bill and Missy raising voices over something completely pointless, and some loose political conversation that just pitted my family against, well, everyone associated with corporations or the government (they're a bit libertarian). My usual frustrations were in place as well: I'm liberal, not libertarian, and my family can be pretty ethnocentric and narrow-minded. Regardless of our differences, though, my family is my family, and this holiday meant much to me.

We cleaned up lunch and talked for a bit, folks generally keeping to either the dining room or the living room. Leftovers were handed out, cousins and aunts and uncles said their goodbyes, I fell asleep on the couch (again), and finally my grandmother, sister, and brother-in-law said their goodbyes, leaving Mom, Dad, and I to start thinking about the Cameron dinner. Or, well, Mom and Dad might have thought about it. I fell asleep on the couch for the third time.

At a quarter of six, my mom commenced the ever-frustrating task of waking me up, and by six we'd left to go to Aunt Leigh and Uncle Tater's house. I probably know the Cameron side of the family less well, or at least mesh with them less--my personality is quite different from most of theirs', as are my interests. But, their interests tend to be easier to get along with than those of the Younts: Cameron family talks tend to center around Pittsburgh sports, drinking, and basic life stuff--no politics and less ethnocentrism here. This year was particularly fun--my cousins and I really enjoyed each others' company (and reflected on our status as young adults not knowing what to do with our lives), I talked with my aunts and uncles far more than usual, and my Uncle Dean's brother Andy visited with his wife and kids.

There were some heavier elements to this year's time together as well. The cousin I'm closest to, the one born a week after me, was recently divorced. I could see some of the pain in her on Thursday. I was asked to say grace, as usual, so I tried to acknowledge both the pain and the joy we'd gone through over the past year. I wanted her especially to know that we loved her, and would not ignore her hurt.

The weight of my cousin's pain was somewhat assuaged for us all by the presence of Uncle Andy. I think part of the reason the Camerons are more open-minded, or at least not as ethnocentric, is the presence of my Uncle Dean and his family. Uncle Dean is Lebanese, making my cousins half-Arab. Uncle Andy (as we mostly all call him) also happens to be one of the most gracious people I know. He absolutely lights up a room, and makes everyone around him feel completely welcome and comfortable. I sat next to him as we both ate dessert, and he wouldn't rest until I had a bite of his pumpkin pie. My family knows that people different from us can be wonderful, for which I am so grateful. The language of "us" and "them" doesn't really carry at all in conversation, actually.

On the Cameron side, this Thanksgiving was one of the most enjoyable I remember. I was able to feel the support of my family, beat my uncle and father in fooseball (I'm the family foose queen), play with my cousin's toddler daughter Melina and her new-found friend, Uncle Andy's three-year-old son Hadyn, enjoy getting to know Uncle Andy's new step-children (who are completely sweet and wonderful), and feel loved by doting aunts and uncles.

Days like that make me a bit more optimistic that I could move back to Punxsy and do some good there, but I'm a long way away from dedicating myself to that one. :)