Over the years, I’ve attended many Friendsgivings since I’d lived apart from my family for many years where I didn’t travel back home for Thanksgiving. Sometimes, those events were also called “Orphans’ Thanksgiving,” in which case, the adults who attended weren’t traveling to be with their relatives for the holiday.
In all those years, I’d never attended a religious-sponsored celebration. Mom claimed that she’d never even heard of it before.
Since this event was sponsored by a church, it began with an all-male choir singing a selection, a scripture reading, a welcome message and prayer, followed by a few games.
Everyone was given a ticket. For each game, several participants’ tickets were called to play a game. I knew my ticket wouldn’t be called. I’ve scientifically proven that my ticket would hardly ever be pulled in such event. That conclusion was established years ago when I attended a Bat Ecology Workshop. There were 14 prizes and 15 participants. Guess who didn’t get a prize?
Mom’s ticket was called for the first game. She and five others had to wear a blindfold, put a plate on their head, and trace their non dominant hand to make a turkey. Just so happened that Mom’s dominant arm had been feeling weak, so she asked to be replaced. Of course, she attempted to volunteer me. First Lady, who hosted the event, didn’t pick up on Mom’s effort and simply pulled another ticket.
They played a few more games before dinner. Since Mom’s the church mother, i.e. the oldest female member, our table was called first. I INHALED my plate. I’d taken a Barre class in the morning and the beast was starving. That’s the best condition to be in for catered food.
The next Thanksgiving dinner will be held at one of my sister’s in-laws’ house. Unlike last year, both Mom and Dad will be able to attend since we have more infrastructure in place such as an electric wheelchair and a wheelchair accessible van. Those are going to be my reasons for being thankful for the celebration this year. Neither one was able to attend last year, so the holiday was somewhat muted.
When I was a child, the best part of Thanksgiving was all the special food we ate during the holiday. Now, what I’m really looking forward to is spending time with extended family–most of them.