To catch up from my last post, we spent Thanksgiving in Dallas this year. Nana and Pops were able to come in to celebrate with us along with the Haggerty/ Gregory Family. We all went to my sister and brother-in-laws house for an early dinner and let the kids play. It was so nice and relaxed! Nana is a fabulous cook, as where Geoff gets it from, so we were very fortunate to have her culinary expertise with the sides. Scott cooked the turkey in his Big Green Egg, absolutely delicious by the way, and my sister and mom added in their sides and appetizers as well. When we arrived, the kids we excited and ran around and played while the adults talked, ate, drank and of course, watched the Cowboy Game. It was an amazing meal shared with incredible company- a successful Thanksgiving was had by all:)
The way I celebrate Thanksgiving has drastically changed over the years. Growing up, the Thanksgiving Holiday, to me, really meant a fast, big lunch, followed by a scramble out the door with my Uncle Randy, his friends, and my cousins Carl, Kyle, Rachael and sometimes Genevieve, to watch our beloved Cowboys play. I must say, this game was always the hi-light of my year. We had so much fun tailgating in Blue Lot, just outside the coral, then making our way inside to our seats, 1st level, just on the other side of the 50 yard line, and cheering on our Boys. Yes, I have to admit, we sometimes were "those fans" who would occasionally make an off-hand comment to an opposing teams fan or perhaps an unknowing man wearing a "fanny pack", but all in all, we had fun. We were die-hard, true Cowboy fans through and through- my Uncle Randy taught us right:)
The year Randy was taken from us, way too soon I must say, we decided we had to carry on our tradition of Cowboy Game Thanksgiving. The same cousins, Kyle, Carl, Rachael, Genevieve and myself, in addition to friends who are like family, John, Adam, Tim and the occasional girlfriend/ boyfriend, etc. decided we would Tailgate Thanksgiving! What a novel idea! Randy would have made fun of us and laughed at us, but inside we know he would have been proud:) We literally made everything the night and morning before the game, then took everything to the stadium. We made sure to have an extra Blue Pass, or at lease pretend to, park, then set up our table and chairs for our Thanksgiving meal. We were able to keep the food warm by hooking up hotplates to the car battery...classy, I know! Kyle always carved the turkey, just like Randy did every year. We know he was looking down at us, probably laughing, but proud that we carried on the tradition.
Then life happened and friends moved away, Geoff and I were married, others started celebrating with their extended families and Jerry World came and no one could afford tickets to the game, not to mention the Ban on Tailgating...who bans tailgating? Thanks Jerry! Kyle passed away, much, much too soon and our Thanksgiving Tailgate was no more.
But, the lesson learned from trip down memory lane...it's not where we celebrate Thanksgiving, but who we celebrate it with. That is what Thanksgiving is all about- giving thanks for the ones we are with and what we have. Over the past 7 years, I have met and married my Best Friend, had 2 amazing little boys, added on to our family with in-laws, nieces, nephews and friends and created countless precious, priceless Thanksgiving memories. So, although we might not ever have our beloved Tailgating Thanksgiving again, I know the memory of the holiday will live on through pictures and stories that we all love to tell.
