New Traditions; Old Roots

It's been five years since my husband and I were back "home" for Thanksgiving.  As a military family, traveling a long ways away (and any army base is a LONG ways away from Wyoming!) just isn't always that doable.  Plus, spending 17 hours in the car with two toddlers is frankly quite nauseating.  Like most military families, we have learned to bend and change to make holidays special for our children, and ourselves so we spend them among our new found family wherever we are. 

As I was explaining the history of Thanksgiving to my son, who was convinced there would be presents involved of some sort, I was thinking about how our new tradition these past few years of spending this particular holiday with friends is not unlike the roots from which it sprouted.  In a
nutshell, Thanksgiving was a time when people from different backgrounds who have shared different cultures, customs, and ideas with each other came together to celebrate that.  They were thankful for the differences that made them a community; they were thankful for friendship; not unlike military families.  The ultimate traditional Thanksgiving is among friends.  There's kids playing and laughing, tons of food, plenty of wine, more than plenty desserts, warmth, love, and memories.  The kinds that can really only be made among friends. 

Military families are especially unique.  It doesn't take us long to form very strong bonds.  Finding "your kind of people" in a field of less than two percent isn't always that easy but somehow we don't let that stop us.  We just jump right in and find them.  We find the people who like coffee and wine.  The people who are in our same or similar life stages; newlyweds, parents, people who live life in leggings, people whose big kids love our little kids tagging along with them, empty nesters...the list goes on and on.  Bonus points if the husbands' get along, too!  Seriously, though. That can be the toughest part sometimes.  I am so thankful that our thanksgiving was spent with delicious foods, lots of laughs, some tasty wine because mommy's kind of need that to be nice sometimes, and pies.  There may have been 16 pies...who's counting, right?  Holidays are best spent in the company of those friends that feel just like family.  For those friends who will always be like family, I am thankful.  Our new traditions in this life have grown from the old roots planted so many years ago.