On Thanksgiving, we all kind of fall into our parts without really talking about it. I do the turkey. Not because I claimed it, just because somewhere along the way it became mine. My husband is always on mac and cheese, and he takes it seriously, like it matters, which it does. My older one handles dessert now, which still feels a little surreal. And my younger one is usually experimenting with something new. This year it’s some kind of dip she’s very confident about.
At some point, we’re all in the kitchen together, doing small things that don’t feel important on their own. Someone’s un-stemming herbs, someone’s taste testing, someone’s asking where something is that’s been in the same place for years. It’s a little chaotic, a little loud, but no one really steps away. And I always notice how natural it feels.
No one assigns roles, no one plans it out. We just show up and somehow it all comes together the same way every year, even as everything else changes. Sometimes there are a lot of people at the table. Sometimes it’s just the four of us. But it always feels like a celebration of us. Grateful for what we have, thankful for who’s here, and how it all somehow fits together.
What’s something your family always falls into, without even trying?
