YOU ARE reading this one week late.
I’m writing this piece in my sister’s kitchen in Los Angeles on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving in America.
Sister is busy preparing dishes for tomorrow’s celebrations.
It’s her thing.
I volunteered to help cook, but she won’t have it.
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So I volunteered to wash the dishes, and clean up the mess after her.
At least, she agreed.
In the living room, my niece is entertaining her guests, a dozen friends.
They just had a potluck of teenage food.
I helped myself to some cookies and pizza.
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After talking to American high school kids about the Netflix series “Riverdale”, and about the dangers of starting alcohol and commonly abused substances without adult supervision, I retreated back to the kitchen to write this piece.
You can only play the ‘cool uncle’ card up to a point.
I talked to my sister a little bit about some people I wanted to invite for dinner.
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Sister says, Fine.
Brother and his family, from West Covina, some 40 miles away, are coming over tomorrow.
It will only be the second time I’ll see them in L.A. after their move from Maryland in June.
I do look forward to seeing my three nephews again.
And maybe talk to all five kids. (I got two nieces from my sister.)
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Sister works so hard cooking.
I think her idea is to serve breakfast, mid-morning snacks, lunch, desserts, mid-afternoon snacks, dinner, and maybe, if some guests stay, midnight snacks.
I’m just going to be the party’s entertainer, and receptionist.
In most likelihood, I’ll be asked to say the appropriate Thanksgiving prayer before meals.
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I’ll say the right words and the right sentiments, you can bet on that.
It will be a decent get together with lots of food, good cheer, and happy company.
But seriously, the real Thanksgiving is going to be in my heart.
And I’m counting all the things to be grateful about as I write this piece.
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Of course, my thanksgiving is kinda different, and probably more personal.
I’ll keep most of it in my heart, because I don’t want to ruin the meals with lengthy prayers.
But tomorrow, even when I just say Amen, God will know what grateful prayers are in my heart.
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I thank God for my family.
I know they can be crazy, and my siblings can be toxic.
But my nephews and nieces make me believe in family.
I keep no secret about it: When I die unmarried (or with no named heir/s), all my worldly possessions will go to my nephews and nieces.
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That’s right.
Not my mom.
Not my brothers and sisters.
But my nephews and nieces.
Please don’t ask me again why.
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My family is not perfect.
Neither am I.
But I know what I’m doing.
Let’s keep it that way.
Because that way, my Thanksgiving prayer is more honest and sincere.
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Some of my siblings are complete assholes.
Again, please don’t ask.
But I sincerely thank God I got them.
If they are nothing to me but problems and punishment, I thank God I did not have something worse.
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So far, my family hasn’t really reported serious illnesses.
My mom is worried that she has cardiomegaly.
I told her, Everyone past age 50 has an enlarged heart.
I’m sure I got cardiomegaly, too; and I’m not even 50 yet!
My two brothers have/had gout.
I tell them, Big deal! I got gout, too!
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One sister had an acute Bell’s palsy.
She survived that, and it resolved without residues.
Another sister had thyroid cancer.
She also survived that, and even went on to have a baby a year after surgery.
So yeah, I thank God for the relative good health of my family.
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Except for my lazy bum brother, who my mom supports irrationally, all my siblings generally got jobs that keep their families together.
I thank God for that.
They also have husbands and wives that give them a sense of family.
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I do not approve how my siblings and their partners define family.
But it could just be me.
So, I thank God for my in-laws for giving my siblings a sense of home.
Right now, I am happy being a widower.
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I’d love to find another partner, and spend the rest of my life with someone I can call my own.
But for now, I am thankful that I am single.
And able to do the hell what I please.
My heart is grateful.
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Some friends—my family’s, and some of my very own—are coming to lunch and dinner tomorrow.
For them, and for all my friends wherever they are in the world, I give thanks.
Friends are a wonderful people.
I keep plenty.
But I understand that they may come and go.
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There are friends that stay for a season.
There are those that stay for a reason.
And when the reason is gone, or when the season changes, and some friends decide to move on without me, I cannot be sad or unhappy.
I thank God for friends past, present,and future.
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And speaking of friends, I thank God for my Panay News readers, and social media friends.
Because as far as I am concerned, they are my real friends, and real family!
And now, we are ready for Christmas. (500tinaga@gmail.com/PN)
