We are spending a tremendous amount of time alone together… how weird is that? As a result though, my mind has been in overdrive… revisiting many of the stories I have shared and also stirring up some new ones.
The most recent one for me is related to family gatherings. With Thanksgiving coming next week, we are all having conversations about do we get together or not? If we do get together, how do we do it in such a way that would be responsible and minimize the potential exposure to this life threatening pandemic to the most vulnerable members of our families… thoughts I never expected to have in my life.
But with these thoughts, it has caused me to revisit family gathers from my past… specifically family reunions. My mom’s mom’s family use to have a reunion every year in August. The Alexander family would gather at the Knobbs Creek Recreation Center in Elizabeth City. I believe some of the family may still be getting together but with the passing of my grandmother and then my mom, I lost connection with them years back.
Besides seeing everyone one, those events were focused on the food. Everyone brought there favorite family dishes… and we all lined up to get a sampling of all of our favorites. This became such an important part of these annual connections that my sister took on the task of actually assembling a family cookbook. So as we approach this coming holiday season with all of it’s questions, concerns and anxieties, I’m breaking out the Alexander Family cookbook and may get some of these treasures from the past my best effort and see if I can at least get close to recreate some memories of a simpler, less confusing and more comfortable time. Happy Holidays, my friends!
Living Life On The Narrows 