Reflections on the upcoming holidays

It seems early to be thinking about Thanksgiving, but for me, it's not. Since moving to California, my husband and I have celebrated most, if not all, holidays with our friends who have become our family. You'd be surprised by how many NY Transplants live within 30 miles of me. In any case, this will be the first Thanksgiving that I haven't hosted or helped plan.

Let me be clear: I loathe the traditional meaning of Thanksgiving. Or anything that ignores the destruction of the Native people living here. Thanksgiving for me is about family - the family into which we were born and the family we chose. It's about being with the people you love most and doing what we fail to do most of the year - tell them how much we really care.

This year, we're celebrating Thanksgiving with another one of the families we've chosen. I'm so grateful to have them in my lives. The kids are some of the sweetest and fun and the adults all rock.

Today's prompt is about our favorite holiday memory. This was an easy one. It's more of a collection of memories. Every year, my parents, brother and I went to my godfather's house to celebrate.

My godfather, Stefan, was an amazing man and a wonderful Uncle to me. I adored that man more than words can describe. Stefan was my dad's best friend from high school. They, as well as a handful of other friends and their significant others, remained close well after graduation and many children. These friends are my aunts and uncles and my Uncle Stefan's mother is my grandmother.

Every year we would walk in to hear Grandma Alice greeting my dad as Pay - blo  instead of Pablo as she put the yams with marshmallows in the oven. The television would be on to whatever game the guys were into, the floor was littered with kids playing games and catching up. The food was always mouth-watering good, and it seems like we ate for hours and hours. More than the particulars of each holiday, I remember feeling the warmth, safety, love and friendship that filled them.

My Uncle Stefan passed away when I was in college and the group holiday gatherings stopped. I miss my aunts and uncles and the many cousins who I only see on Facebook. No matter how much time passes, or how much we change, the memories with my very large and crazy family will always make me cherish the holidays.