Dear Duggan Sisters Family,
At this stage of my life, Thanksgiving Day is every day, or at least I aspire to that enlightened state.
At this stage of my life, Thanksgiving Day is every day, or at least I aspire to that enlightened state.
I’ve loosened my grip and my youthful fantasies of creating the perfect Norman Rockwell holiday moment, opting instead for a more flexible and easy-going approach. I know I am not alone.
A dear friend recently shared with me that as the next generation assumes hosting responsibilities for her clan, they’ve announced that nine chickens will be roasted to replace the traditional turkey because, to quote them, TURKEY SUCKS. We shared a laugh. We let it go. We gave thanks.
Fraught politics, a fractured history, and ever more complex and diverse eating styles are being expressed in vegan cook-alikes, and, in our family, gluten-free everything. And it’s all good as we gather around the table and give thanks that we’re still alive, even as we tearfully remember loved ones who’ve gone before us.
Last year, we did it up right, hosting out-of-town guests: fine china, a perfectly timed and absolutely delicious feast, and the requisite board games to accompany Friday leftovers. This year, we’re on our own and I’m voting for a simple meal, our feet up and enjoying time with our newest family member, Peanut, the one-year-old rescue puppy who has stolen our hearts even as he has destroyed much of what we own. He is obsessively trying to win the heart of our elderly cat and keeping us on the move (screaming No Peanut, NO!) with an intensity that rivals any family’s touch football game.
The Duggan Sisters have a tradition of ending each day with our FMs (our Favorite Moments).They can be anything as simple as a delicious dinner, a forbidden dessert allowed just this once, or Peanut mastering the drop command - which more accurately is a fantasy moment. But, you get it, ending each and every day, even the really hard ones, in gratitude is part of our family’s formula for living well.
At Thanksgiving, I know we join with all of you, our treasured customers, in extra special thanks. If we have food to eat and a roof over our heads, we give thanks. If we have our health, we give thanks, even as we offer prayers for those who are ailing. If we are blessed to not be living in a war zone or coping with a weather catastrophe, we give thanks, even as we extend our support to those who are suffering. And, if we are not alone at the holidays, blessed with whatever family might look like for us, we combine gratitude with a warm welcome to anyone who needs and wants to join us at the table. Gratitude, like our breath, becomes intentional, essential and everyday. And that’s worth celebrating.
This year and every year, we extend every blessing of the Season from our family to each and every one of yours.
Thank you from the Sisters,
Thank you from the Sisters,
Mary
