[AtLast]

I will spend Thanksgiving at our family ranch in Northern California. What is great about this is that there is room there for us to gather and it is pretty central for all of us to travel to.

If it turns out to be a nice day, all the kids can run and scream and just be kids outside. If not, they will do the same, inside! A football game will be blaring in one room with some that enjoy this and some kind of rivalry will most likely be going on. My sister’s grandchildren will make time to play checkers or just sit with her husband that has Alzheimer’s. Shit, they are starting to do some things like this with me because of my damn arthritis!

The Holidays are a time that I do get to see family and this means a lot to me. There is always reverence paid to those we have lost, lots of laughter, catching up, hugs, tears, arguing, and great food!

We all have things that have been passed down generationally that we cook for each other and family traditions passed on to children, like preparing and serving antipasto, using dishes from my parents and their parents. The basil used is still from seed my own father’s gardening produced that was from his Grandfather in Italy! Yes, one of my adult nephews has made certain that the seeds are preserved each year for this and he also produces olive oil and imported trees from the regions of Italy my Mom and Dad were from. Now, he is working on getting some from Chile as we have uncovered family “secrets” about a part of our family that was hidden from us. He is doing this as a way to combat the internal racism that surrounded this occurring in our family. You don’t have to let wrongs continue and this begins at home! We are hoping that new found family from the east coast will be at the table for Christmas.

I always talk about the "First Thanksgiving" in terms of how Native Americans were treated and continue to be treated. Education begins in all of our homes, within the family. Correcting what is left out in school curriculums is up to all of us.


Elders do sit at the head of the tables and I am proud to be given one of those seats. Younger members learn of the relatives they are too young to have known. We want them to have a sense of our family history, their culture. We bring favorite photos to share.

It is also a time that we reflect together on how much we do have to be thankful for as a family. Arguments over politics will run rampant! We have differences just like everyone, but, there has always been a deep love between us that transcends these differences. We do have each other's backs and always have.

I am very fortunate to have the family that I do and never take this for granted. So many other people just do not have this as a foundation and that makes me sad. Perfect, we are not, proud of our heritage and contributions as a family to our communities and each other, we are. I would not trade my deep love of family garnished with immigrant history for anything.


There will be many stories about those that we have lost and as usual, I will miss my parents, brother and one sister sitting with me and the “clan.” But they are with us.

No, it isn't just another day to me.