Come Let Us Gather {Spin Cycle}

This fall has been beautiful. We have had clear, sunny days along with warm temperatures. Except for the sun setting earlier, it seemed like this fall was an extension of summer. Until, of course, the weekend that we were expecting guests. Every fall, my dad’s extended family gets together somewhere. I use that broad term, “somewhere,” because we are scattered all over the country. One year, the family met on the East Coast. The next year, they went to the West Coast. This year, it was time to visit the Midwest.

And of course, the temperatures dropped into the sixties and the rain came. Fortunately, the only thing my family wants to do is be together, talk and play cards, so the rain was just a little thing.

When I was a little girl, we always were together on the day after Thanksgiving. My dad and my uncles were pastors, so they had to work on Thanksgiving morning. My dad would preach at church and then we would get in the car to drive to Detroit, or Ft. Wayne, or Canton, Ohio. Every few years it was our turn, so we didn’t have to travel. One of my mom’s favorite times was Thanksgiving night–the night before the big meal. All my aunts would gather in the kitchen to cook and talk. It was a lot of work to feed all us children; when my little sister was born, that made twenty cousins in all. Our parents had no money to stay in hotels, so we slept on the floor in our cousins’ rooms, in the basement, even once in the church next door. On Friday came the big turkey feast! It was a day late, but it was still Thanksgiving to us.

Many years later, Thanksgiving became complicated. Cousins got married and had children, and there were more and more obligations to fulfill. Now, we have “Pre-Thanksgiving.” It’s like Thanksgiving, but it’s not. The cousins can afford to stay at a hotel and the kids don’t have to sleep on the floor. There is no cooking the night before. This year, I even decided that I was not going to serve turkey. I had the dinner catered with authentic Chicago-style food; Lou Malnati’s deep dish pizza, pasta, and Italian beef.

Some of our relatives were missing. Some cousins had to work; some couldn’t travel so far away. We missed my mom and two uncles who have gone to heaven before us. However, a total of forty-one relatives crammed into my kitchen last Saturday. We were together despite the rain outside, despite my husband’s fears that we wouldn’t all fit in our house, despite my ugly bathroom floors. (That’s another story waiting to be told.)

I remember being one of the little cousins and going along with a “show” that we performed for our parents a long, long time ago in a basement in Ft. Wayne. At the very beginning of the festivities his year, my daughters and my cousins’ kids put on a show of their own. They stood on the steps, plucked a toy guitar and sang their hearts out. They were making their own wonderful childhood memories.

show on steps

It might not have been Thanksgiving, but it was still Thanksgiving to us. We give thanks for the blessings God gave us in family; in good weather and bad, in health and in sickness, with those present and in the hearts of those absent, and we know we are loved.

Oh, and did I mention this, family? While playing cards, I got the best 500 hand in my life! Ten diamonds, baby!

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Add your own fall link, read other fall stories, and spread the word about the Spin Cycle on Facebook and Twitter by using the hashtag #SpinCycle! Gretchen and I will reveal next week’s Spin Cycle topic on Monday.



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8 Replies to “Come Let Us Gather {Spin Cycle}”

  1. Oh Ginny, this warmed my heart! Your family always sounds like something out of a book. I can’t tell you how much I envy you your big crowd! It’s SO important and amazing that you still have these gatherings regularly – so many families don’t. It’s a tradition the girls will absolutely treasure!

    And…I will now have “Come Let Us Gather” stuck in my head all day!!

  2. How fun! Even though it is tougher to gather….it sounds amazing! And I personally love those family holidays so much! Best memories are created when family gathers! Thank you so much for sharing! I loved the adorable picture!

  3. How great that you had forty-one people together! Reminds me of my family’s old Christmas Eve parties.

    And I love the idea of a “pre-Thanksgiving.” The holidays always fill up so quickly that there’s not enough time to actually enjoy each of the events. This probably gave you more time to actually enjoy each other’s company without feeling worn out from too many parties already.

  4. Aunts in your kitchen, or any kitchen, must have been the best place for the family news. How amazing to have a group of women gather around talking and working together. Wish I had something like that for my girls. How did the Chicago meal turnout?

  5. This makes me ache for the Thanksgivings of long ago. So much has changed. We no longer travel to the large relative gathering, in fact they don’t even do it every year. However, I’ve started hosting dinner here at my house. It’s been only my family, but I’m thinking of inviting neighbors and friends this year…it’s always more fun with a big crowd!

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