Thanksgiving: A different view

In our town, they have a wonderful tradition that dates back about 20 years now: There's a community Thanksgiving potluck. It used to be in a local park (I live in Southern California) but now it's inside a local church. Everyone comes, and people who are lucky enough to have home and food prepare a dish for the feast, but all are welcome. The homeless dine with the middle class and the affluent, and there's more than enough good food for everyone. People volunteer to serve, and with the leftovers, they make bag lunches for the homeless to take with them.

It's a funny thing when you think of it. It's so much less trouble to make just one very large dish to bring than it is to give even a small thanksgiving at home. It's much less expensive. And yet there are such mountains of many different kinds of food. It shows what can happen when a community works together and everyone contributes what he or she can: There is more than enough for everyone.

Unfortunately, after it moved to the church, it felt less festive and more like a soup kitchen. My kids asked to have dinners at home instead, so I bring a huge salad to the community feast, but we eat at home as a family. Still, I feel torn about it. I'm thinking in future years we might do our dinner at home on Fridays so that we can still be part of an avent with bigger meaning on Thanksgiving Day.

Amen to everything said, from this American expat living 1/2 a world away from her family today and who desperately wishes she could be home with them and not working.

Happy Turkey Day, all!