Traditions

The little Traditions in the Ellis Family

            My family would not be considered the “traditional” family by any means.  We all eat together for Thanksgiving every year, and that’s about the closest we come to tradition.  Where my family will feast usually remains unknown until the last minute.

            However, my family wasn’t always like this.  When my mom’s mom was alive, our family was full of tradition.  Every year on Thanksgiving, the entire family flocked to her house around two.   All of her daughters would go a little earlier to help out. Since my mom was her daughter, I was always stuck there early with a select few of my other cousins.  We would all run around going nuts getting yelled at every ten minutes to stay out of the kitchen, eventually going outside to anything possible.    Running along the sidewalks, the sound of horns signal to us that the rest of the family arrived.  The anticipation only worsened! The hunger was getting to us so bad that we were getting grouchy and beginning to argue about everything. 

            Finally we would hear our grandma’s voice tell us it’s time to eat.  Music to our ears!  As we raced inside, we could smell all the delightful food and our stomachs felt as if they were going to turn inside out.  We were sat at a small table away from the adult table because there wasn’t enough seating at just one table.  As we patiently waited for our food to be served, my eyes scoped the menu for this year. Displayed on the table was turkey of course, along with my favorite ham and cheesy potatoes.  Many, many other things were served, but the potatoes being my main concern.  They had just the right amount of cheese in them with bits of ham and finely chopped potatoes.  When my grandma passed away, she left nobody with the recipe.  Thanksgiving hasn’t been the same since, without her cheerful spirit and, of course, her food.  It’s sad to think about how much things change as you age, all traditions seem to be lost.  Things don’t seem to be as fun as they once did, and the holiday cheer dwindles down.  However, this doesn’t mean that I don’t still love Thanksgiving!  Even though my family traditions faded, I still love seeing everyone and enjoying a good meal all together.