Growing up, I remember spending a lot of time with my mom’s family. Her side of the family lived relatively close to us and there were a lot of people to see for birthday’s and holidays. The one holiday we almost always spent with my dad's side of the family is Thanksgiving.
Now, Thanksgiving is a day when I think back on so many of the wonderful memories we all made. I can still recall my Grandpa, Lalo, making gravy in the roasting pan on the stove. I can remember the sound of the chairs being pulled along the kitchen floor at my grandparents. I can remember eating the potato chips on the kitchen table and wishing they weren’t always so burnt. I can remember the first Thanksgiving after my grandfather died. There’s a picture of my father, my sister and me sitting on the couch at our house listening to “Alice’s Restaurant” by Arlo Gunthrie. It was the first time in years we didn’t listen to it on the way to 22 Webb Drive. I can remember the Thanksgiving we went to my Aunt’s house while I was in college. I spent most of the day asleep on the most comfortable chair in the world. I remember the Thanksgiving Akua, my grandmothers care taker, and her husband Sam spent with us. I remember the first Thanksgiving my sister spent with her husband’s family and how I cried my way through “Alice’s Restaurant” with my parents singing joyously in the front seat of the Volvo as I tried to hide behind my sunglasses in the back.
It’s weird when you grow up… how things change. This year and for the foreseeable years ahead I will celebrate with the Kanady family. Every year on Thanksgiving my family and my dad’s family will hold a special place in my heart and I'll always keep a piece of the Ortuso tradition alive that day. I know each year I’ll enjoy Brian learning a few more words to “Alice’s Resturant” and I’ll think back on a time when it was just the four of us in a car on the way to spend time with the family.
