Giving Thanks...and Wishing

On Monday morning, our family bought fourteen frozen turkeys. The four of us, each with our own cart, marched in a line, one after the other. We went to the frozen section at the supermarket, got our turkeys, two each, filed back to the registers, through the parking lot, and loaded them all into the back of our van. Then we got in and drove to another store to get six more. That was our family outing. Needless to say, we couldn’t stop laughing and whispering how weird the whole endevour was. No, we are not a group of gluttons (in fact, my sister is vegetarian). No, these turkeys are not for us.

Every year, my dad cooks the turkeys for a Thanksgiving feast to be consumed by over three hundred University students and other “Victorians” at a local church. The day after the feast, my dad will use the remaining carcasses (don’t you just love that word?) and make enough turkey stock to last us a year (and then some!). This is our family tradition. On October 1st, 1999, my mum, dad, sister, and I left Ontario, Canada for a new chapter in our lives, which happened to be in Austria. Mittersill, a tiny village between Innsbruck and Salzburg, became our home for the next four years. It was our first time living away from any extended family and, sadly, the last time we would ever live in the same time zone as them. We moved back to the other side (West Coast) of Canada in 2003, and have been here ever since. With only the four of us, our Thanksgivings and other family-type gatherings, have taken on new traditions and ways of celebrating. Over the past fifteen-plus years, we’ve had students, friends, and other “stragglers” without family nearby come for a supper. We’ve also had some years without any sort of special meal or typical Thanksgiving festivities enjoyed by Canadians. We might eat leftovers some years, or other food not consisting of turkey, stuffing, and the like. But while these traditions are wonderful, and I love taking part in them, I don’t really care about the food. In fact, I’m not even a huge fan of turkey. What I love and miss most about living away from more family is the time together. I miss sitting around, talking about whatever comes to mind, playing “Just Dance” with my cousin, cuddling with another, being engulfed in great big uncle hugs, soft and gentle auntie and grandparent hugs. I miss playing games that need more than four players. I miss hearing the hearty laughter that always come with get togethers. Don’t get me wrong- we still see our family, but it isn’t as often as we’d like. Plane tickets cost way too much to jaunt across the country (and south to the states to visit my mum’s side) every month, or every major holiday, or even every year. Last October, I got to see my mum’s sisters and my cousins on that side for the first time in over ten years. I’m so thankful that I got to see them twice in the last twelve months. Unfortunately, and also fortunately, the last time we went to visit our Ontario crew was last December after the passing of my grandma and grandpa. It was great to see everyone, even if the occasion was a sombre one. I’ve been missing them a lot lately (my grandparents, I mean). I get angry that the last time I saw them was five years before then. I was still sick. I wish I could have seen them after I got better. I wish we could have spent more time together. We lived just a block away until I was five.

I feel cheated out of the other years. I feel cheated and angry that I missed so many years with extended family. I wish we lived close enough to take each other for granted. I wish going to my aunts and uncles’ houses didn’t involve packing a suitcase. I wish I got to see my little cousins grow up in person. I love seeing pictures and keeping updated over the internet, but it isn’t the same. I ache to see them, to hug them, to just be with them. I wish for a lot of things, and sometimes I forget all the blessings that God has given me. I’m healthy. My parents and sister are healthy. We live in a beautiful house with wonderful neighbours. We have plenty of food and clean water to drink right from the tap. We belong to a church family that supports us, that loves us, that we love. We live in a country with education, freedom to express our faith, and healthcare. We have an adorable new puppy. We live in a city full of nature, hippies, and eclectic communities. We have friends. I've even made new friends over the past couple years and have grown incredibly close in a short span of time. We have work. I get to have free time, not having to work all day, every day of the week just to make ends meet. My family has a great relationship with one another. There is so much to be thankful for. Sometimes I need to list them out to be reminded of just how many blessings I have. Yeah, I miss my extended family. Yeah, not everything is perfect all the time, but with special outings with parents and my sister to go buy fourteen turkeys that we won’t even eat, what do I have to complain about? I wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving. Not just for one day, but for every day.

P.S. Here are some photos of Islay, the latest addition to our family: