Feasting

It is always tempting on Thanksgiving to write a list of all of the things I am thankful for. I could be inspired to start from the top of my head to the tip of my toes or go from floor to ceiling. Even that reflection could take quite a while. There is so much to be thankful for. Even though the relationships that began so long ago when Native Americans saved colonial ancestors from starvation did not end so well, it is still interesting to imagine how they might have related to one another over a feast. Whenever I am in town for Thanksgiving, I love to host Thanksgiving "orphans". I was impressed from my youth by Thanksgivings at my grandmother's house. It was never just our own family, but often out-of-town guests, houseguests of my grandmother, and a variety of other people were present. Bent, the Norwegian, comes to mind. Some family friends came year after year. I will never forget one Thanksgiving. The table was all set, and everyone was seated. Before I knew it, I tipped over my water glass and it spilled. "Thank God, a new twinkletoes!" exclaimed Uncle Loren. He had been dubbed the family twinkletoes, but now I was in the running for the title. During hard times like our present era, perhaps especially at times like this, it is so important to gather together and feast. Thanksgiving is a feast of sharing this year: John bringing the green beans, Frank bringing a bottle of wine, Megan and John bringing mashed potatoes, Rachel bringing a blueberry pie. This year we have the special treat of my parents' company. They are presently tidying up downstairs. I started cooking yesterday, not necessarily health food but certainly savory: slow-cooked sweet potatoes, rosemary cornbread, apple-sausage stuffing, a soon-to-be-dressed orange-sage turkey, and orange-marmalade cranberries. We even have a gluten-free pumpkin pie from Sweet Sin. Unlike others, I truly look forward to leftovers after Thanksgiving and hope they last for days. It is my favorite meal of the year. There have been a number of other "feasts" lately. Amy, our nurse practitioner, and I attended the Maryland Multi-payor Patient-Centered Medical Home Pilot learning collaborative meeting in early November. 53 practices were in attendance. I was able to share a brief presentation on our progress as a practice and how the learning collaborative has helped us. Since I only had a few minutes, it was a fast-forward version of our history since being accepted to the program through the present time. The changes in our practice have been exponential. As the underdogs of the program, we were pretty excited to be able to highlight the landmarks. Amy gave a presentation on the role of the care manager in the Patient-Centered Medical Home, and people kept coming up to me afterwards praising her for the excellent job she did. It was so encouraging to be in a room full of health professionals and staffmembers who share values on patient care. We experienced a feast of ideas. I am also in the midst of a feast of family: a trip to Aspen for Labor Day weekend, parents visiting for a couple of weeks, an upcoming trip to my sister's family in Connecticut for Christmas, and travels to Mexico for Cousin Tommy's wedding in February, my parents' return visit in the late Spring, and hopefully a weekend venture to Aspen for the 4th of July. There has been a feast of friends this year: a mini-reunion with dear college friends in January, travels in Italy and a stay in Tuscany with Baltimoreans in June, a little retreat with my dear friend Dede this summer, impromptu overnight visits with Tami, Sarean coming through, a weekend trip to Charlottesville to be with Lynne, and joining up to sing a Christmas carol in a small ensemble of friends at the FCF Advent Concert in a couple of weeks.