I looked around the room and realized four generations were gathered that day. On this random Sunday afternoon in August, we had our youngest (a one-year-old great-granddaughter) and our oldest (a 76-year-old great-grandfather) all sitting down to celebrate Thanksgiving. Yes, that’s right. Thanksgiving in the summer.
A Tradition Is Born
I’m not sure how it started. But a few years ago, my mother decided she would host a traditional Thanksgiving meal before the start of the school year. Knowing her, she probably had an extra turkey in the freezer bought on sale at Walmart and needed to cook it. Whatever the inspiration, she organized a date that worked for everyone, assigned our cooking duties, and anticipated the day.
We love Thanksgiving for many reasons:
For one, it has special memories for our family. We moved away from my parents’ hometown when I was in elementary school. Each year, we made the trek back to Wisconsin to visit my grandparents. We ate two meals that day, starting with my mom’s mother’s turkey cooked in an ancient Nesco roaster.
For another reason, that same roaster now stands on the counter at my mom’s house. She uses it to serve up summer Thanksgiving and traditional Thanksgiving to this day. My daughter claims that she plans to inherit the roaster. But as she cooks mostly in the microwave, I’m not sure how that plan will work.
Finally, it’s a time for my father to look with his Norman Rockwell eyes at the gathering. He will wax lovingly about the “mess” that he and my mom started way back in the 1960s.
Honoring Grandparents beyond Grandparents’ Day
For my parents, this summer Thanksgiving tradition has truly become a touchstone moment in the year. Grandparents’ Day comes in the bustle of the new school year and around Labor Day weekend travels. Thanksgiving brings all the challenges of multiple family obligations. By creating this family tradition, we celebrate a mash up of two meaningful days into one occasion that usually works to bring everyone together.
I hope you can find ways to celebrate your grandparents. I have been truly blessed that my own grandparents were around well into adulthood for me, and now my parents are enjoying being great-grandparents themselves to the next generation. While Grandparents’ Day officially comes once a year, I’m sure you can find ways to celebrate these special people at any time during the year.
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