Freedom from Want

HOLIDAYS are rooted in tradition. That’s what makes them unique and personal. Every Thanksgiving day, for as long as I can remember, my family completes our Norman Rockwell “Freedom from Want” puzzle before dinner is served.

Thanksgiving cerca 1987 at my Grandparents'

As a child, my cousins, sisters and I would be corralled to the back room of my grandparents’ house where the pieces would be spread out on a card table for us. We huddled around the tiny table hoping to put two pieces together before anyone else, but also secretly trying to keep warm in the drafty den. What served merely as a distraction for me as a child has recently become my favorite activity of the day.

Thanksgiving cerca 2007 at our house

Now, the crowd is usually reduced to Barberree, my only living grandparent, and I. We sit silently next to each other sipping our holiday drinks and placing the same soggy pieces that we have for decades. A couple years ago, I realized that one day I'll be the only one left at the table. But until then, I am most thankful for the moment when the last piece is placed, and she looks up, winks and says, "How about that."


*This holiday anecdote was also a contribution to Mastering the Art of Thanksgiving, a fantastically festive zine created by Miss Sarah Handelman. After you put your Thanksgiving pants on you can settle on the couch and flip through all the wonderful tidbits she brought together.


**Barberree and I started the puzzle yesterday when she came over to help my mom and I "chop things." We have the perimeter done and ready for others to join in :)