Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving brings all sorts of memories in its wake. 

All those meals with beloveds – no matter what. 

Always the turkey (except the one year when we were vegan and decided on Tofurky – but that’s another topic). 

Always Uncle B‘s pumpkin pie, and

Grandma Elaine’s special potatoes.

Always the ‘too much’ of it all and yet,

also the precarious pleasure of that fullness. 

That reliable togetherness where we remember

what it means to be human.  To belong. 

Even when the toddlers throw the food,

and the dog snatches a bite and even when

there are empty chairs, even when

it takes all day to prepare and is eaten in a half hour. 

It is all held in the frame of family. 

And it always ends, as it should,

with that same last sweet bite of pie.

Reminding us that we have come once again to this table

with our imperfect selves ---

yet there is a larger perfection that holds us here together.

            Thanksgiving 2025.