Bearing Drift Writers Pause to Give Thanks
These Bearing Drift writers shared their plans for today….
M.D. Russ, Senior Contributor….
“My wife and I are having a unique Thanksgiving this year. We are celebrating at home and it will be just the two of us at our Loudoun County farmhouse. There won’t be a leaf in the dining room table because instead of eight or ten people and a kid’s table in the kitchen, there will just be two place settings.
“The brined roasted turkey as the centerpiece will be just ten pounds instead of 22 pounds. There will be only one variety of stuffing served and one pie for dessert instead of three or four. After dinner there won’t be five or six guys asleep in the family room in front of the fireplace with a football game on the TV that no one is watching.
“Instead, the two of us will be on Zoom visiting our loved ones at their homes. But, Christmas is going to be different, too. We will be giving thanks to God for His son’s birth as well as for the happy lives of ourselves and our family members, instead of remembering and praying for those who fell ill after Thanksgiving and may have passed away.
“Be safe and Happy Thanksgiving to all.”
Kris Nohe, Senior Contributor….
“Growing up as a military brat, a Thanksgiving with just my immediate family doesn’t feel so strange. We were usually too far from extended family to be able to go for the big family Turkey Fest. Then I went and married a man in retail, and let’s just say that when you have to be at the store bright and early on Black Friday, you don’t go far on Thanksgiving. This year three out of the six of us have to be at work for Black Friday, so COVID or no COVID, we weren’t going anywhere.
“We’ve always taken the attitude that traditions are arbitrary, so we should keep the ones we like and lose the ones we don’t. For example, we don’t like turkey. We’ve made it a few times, but then a big Tupperware of it sits in the fridge for days while the children complain there is nothing to eat in the house. (HELLO! There is like 15 pounds of turkey!) Eventually, we just gave in and realized that having turkey because it was traditional was stupid. We usually have lasagna, but this year we are having ribs and pulled pork because there are no rules in 2020.
“Also, we know this craziness will end eventually, so if we can’t celebrate together in November and December, we’ll just do it when we can. Heck, Jesus was probably born in June, so if we celebrate it then, we’ll actually be more historically accurate and a lot less paganish. Plus, I haven’t had a Christmas in shorts since we moved from Puerto Rico back to the states. There really is nothing like going to the pool after a morning of gluttony and greed, and walking through the neighborhood to look at the Christmas lights in 70-degree weather will always beat a white Christmas in my book. Just don’t put Christmas lights on the palm trees. Take my word for it; it never looks right and it often looks very, very wrong and makes the baby Jesus cry. Don’t do it.
“We have each other, our health, and Zoom. What else could we ask for? (Well, actually quite a bit, but that’s not in the spirit of the season.) Happy Thanksgiving to each and every one of you. Y’all have made 2020 brighter and far more bearable, and I can’t tell you how thankful I am for our quirky little Bearing Drift family.”
Susan Sili, Senior Contributor….
Lynn, as you probably know from my Facebook page, Thanksgiving is a big deal at my house. As an Army brat, we missed many Thanksgivings in my grandmother’s house here in Virginia so when we stopped traveling the world and Dad finally retired in 1976, we never missed a chance to be together.
“My grandmother’s family recipes go back hundreds of years to my ancestor who founded Caroline in 1727 and to his grandfather who managed to hold on to his land on the frontier even though he supported Nathaniel Bacon. As we lost our grandparents and uncles starting in the 1980s, and parents both passing in 2000, my brother and I are the only ones left. So I create what we knew at Grandmother’s in the way of china, crystal, and silver on a special table, and cook everything from scratch so that my brother’s children would have those memories.
“My baby grand piano holds pictures of each family member from very young to old, and my brother and I share and re-share their stories including my father’s who were Irish Catholic immigrants.
“This year however we are blessed in that my brother has purchased a property on the Potomac River, which once belonged to my grandfather and where we spent many happy summers, called Foxpoint. It had only one owner since its sale in the 70s and looks much like it did when my brother and I were little, and has an old trailer on it and is still very much the wilderness.
“The six of us will be spending Thanksgiving outside there on the point, social distancing around a camp fire with homemade bread and Brunswick stew as well as venison sausages, chesses, and hopefully my apple cake if the new recipe turns out well.”
Happy Thanksgiving!
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