All families have traditions — those special ways of celebrating certain events, whether they’re birthdays, holidays, or annual vacations. Polimom’s little nuclear group is no exception, and the longest-standing of these is Thanksgiving.
To me, Thanksgiving means family; sharing, catching up, laughing and watching while the next generation of cousins creates its own dynamic…. but because my family is fragmented (in many ways) and very small, this has always meant travel.
Except for this year — because Polimom’s little flu has evidently expanded into bronchitis, and as a result we’re not flying to be with our loved ones today; instead, I’m spending time with a doctor. Antibiotics are a wonderful thing, and I expect to be well by tomorrow evening — but that’s too late, unfortunately, to make our normal family gathering.
We’re stuck at home for the first time ever, and I’ve discovered something terrible: there is no back-up plan for a Tradition.
I was pretty upset about this last night, but there is something that will go light years toward soothing our sad hearts; we’d like to find a group that’s providing a Thanksgiving meal to the needy in the community, whether Katy or Houston, and help with the set-up and serving.
Unfortunately, because we’re making such a last-minute change, we don’t have our ducks (turkeys? hams?) in a row. Plans for these types of events have long-since been finalized (as, of course, they should be), leaving me stumped.
And so I’m wondering whether any of Polimom’s Houston-area readers can help us out here? We’d like to participate somehow — to be part of and give back to the wider societal family, since we cannot be with our own this year. Does anyone know of somewhere that we can join in?
If you do, please email me directly; I’m going to need specific information. However, I’d also like to invite everyone to use the comments section to share about your own favorite local charity or event, wherever it is. There’s a lot going on, and I’d very much like to hear about it.
Because it’ll work better, I think, than any medicine.