Every family is saturated with traditions. Those traditions
have, over the years, become a culture—a language the entire family understands
and appreciates. Our family is no different.
Some of those traditions are fun, others more serious. They
range from activities like riding horses, camping or working in a field to food
that we all love like double stuffed potatoes, deviled eggs, cheese melted on a
plate OR the coveted Slush that Grandma Ginger makes for special occasions. It
is around holiday season, that we are all together to enjoy all our
similarities—AND our differences!
This week, Lady Hiva and I celebrated Thanksgiving with just
the two of us. It was a simple day. It was a perfect day. We have so much to be
thankful for over this past year. We have been very blessed. It was nice to
have a day of quietness to remember all that we are thankful for. And don’t worry,
we even had SLUSH!
Orange slush is a simple concoction: Orange Juice, Lemonade,
Almond extract and LOTS of Vanilla extract. It is then frozen overnight to be
ready for the family gathering the next day. Ginger always uses the same two
enormous white Tupperware bowls to make it. To see them any other time of year
it still reminds me of Slush and family gatherings. Slush is loved by all of
us. Some family members have added different aspects over the years to
tantalize their taste buds, Heidi likes to have a little Sprite in hers, Lady
Hiva likes it with whip cream…but no matter what, we all love it. If there is
someone in the family that cannot be with us, when they call during the party
the first thing they ask about is if there is Slush—of course there is. They
know that. But I guess we all just want to confirm anyway. A small way to know
we are still a family no matter how far away we are from each other some things
never change.
Recently, we past the three year anniversary of Trevor
passing away; Ironically, in this Season of thanks, we have had so much sorrow
over the years. (If you have not read the book yet, you can see why it is named
WHITE LILIES IN AUTUMN) One of the cousins wrote on her Facebook page that she
was missing Trevor and hoped that there was some of Grandma Ginger’s Slush in
Heaven! Another cousin responded that if there wasn’t she was boycotting ever
going. Yes, there was some humor to the conversation, but again it was a small
way to communicate that when we are gathering as a family, and drinking our
Slush, we miss those that are not there and hope in some way they know we miss
them and wish they were there to drink some Slush too.
Although Lady Hiva and I were back in Manila on Thanksgiving
Day, we still had our Slush to enjoy. Luckily, we were able to spend time with
both our families at the beginning of the month. Having large dinners with Lady
Hiva’s family and then having a Thanksgiving dinner with mine.
These times are so cherished. We sit around relaxing. Those that
are there swap stories about growing up together. Most are full of laughter
until our sides ache; although they may not have been as funny when they occurred
years ago. We are able to meet the new additions to the families through
births, adoptions, and marriages. We also notice the holes that are left when
someone is missing—either because they could not make it, or they have left the
family for one reason or another. No matter what the memories remain. The good
and bad.
As we relax and drink our Slush, we tell our stories; we
realize that no matter how different we are (we live in different States and Countries,
have different accents, wear different clothes, prefer different climates, are
shaped different, having a variety of hair and eye colors, we may not even have
LIKED each other at some point, etc…) WE ARE STILL A FAMILY.
This same group that drinks Slush with us today is the group
that cried with us last year, cheered for us last week, prayed for us yesterday
and will call us tomorrow to make sure we know they love us. So, yes, I hope
there is Grandma Ginger’s Slush in Heaven. Because when it comes time to decide
where I will be, I want to be around that loud, crazy group of unique
individuals gathered around an old Tupperware bowl sharing stories. That is MY
FAMILY.
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