I think I've mentioned before that Thanksgiving is probably my favorite holiday. Besides the delights of the food (pumpkin cheesecake was my favorite this year), there's family and fellowship, and plenty of time to enjoy each other without the incessant interruptions of commercialism.
This year we had the special treat of a Burke/ Wheeler family reunion in Las Cruces (my parent's home), with a full representation of our Wheeler cousins (Van & Benjie), Benjie's kids, and our Landsman relatives (Aunt Ondina & Ericka) from Miami (pictures coming soon). Needless to say, Abraham got plenty of attention this weekend!
I love family gatherings, but it seems that so often in these gatherings, conversation stalls at the usual discussions of careers, movies, food, and weather (yes, it's a topic that comes up quite often when your father is a farmer). This year I instituted a "family storytelling" time that I've been thinking of for a while... to connect the generations-- to learn from each other and laugh together. It went really well! You might want to try it yourself some time.
The process: Make index cards with various age groups written on them (equal to the number of people participating) and have each family member pick a card. We used the following age groups: 0-12, 12-20, 20-40, 40+. Each family member shares a story from that time of their life, reflecting why they were thankful.
We heard some great stories that many of us had never heard, like the story of Van's near abduction by drug smuggling punks while travelling in Morocco... and also were able to share special moments of our present lives (Abe's birth in brief was my story). Next time I'll make sure to set up the tape recorder!
Thanks to Esther my sister's hard work, we succeeded in packing up our stuff and arriving to New Mexico in good time (last Wednesday). Now we're heading back to Dallas for a few weeks to pack up for Malaysia and for Mark to finish some tasks there. Abe's passport is on the way (praise the Lord!) and our tickets are set for departing to Spokane Dec 15, then on westward across the world Dec 28.
2 comments:
I can't believe it's already time for you guys to leave!! We really do need to get together before that happens.. my new phone number is 903-360-3669. Give me a call and I will talk to Kevin about when we can possibly get to Dallas to see you.
I am sooo glad you were able to get out to Ohio! That is awesome!
You are home now?? So I can call then??
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