This was written by Nova Ewers and Ann Quinlan, who put this together for our clients to send along with our Thanksgiving wishes.
Happy Thanksgiving to you all!
Holiday Stories: From Our Family Table to Yours
Storytelling is at the heart of what the holidays are all about. Year after year at my family’s Thanksgiving and Christmas tables, we recount all the best memories of our years together as a family. I recall tense games of Monopoly, orange chocolate in turkey tins, childhood mischief at the kids table. I recall driving around after dessert for a look at the houses all dressed up in lights for Christmas. I remember the first Thanksgiving after the first of the younger generation got married – when there was new family around the table and we argued over the best change to the seating arrangement. I laugh thinking about how different the gifts under the tree looked at the first Christmas with their new baby. I also laugh at the memories of the elders occasionally drinking too much wine and loosing their conservative inhibitions. And then I remember those who aren’t with us at our table anymore. I remember my father most of all and I laugh until my belly aches from telling stories of his holiday antics.
This is what holidays are all about because this is what families are all about; families are a collective of shared memories and shared love. But family is more than that collective you were born into. Family includes your friends, neighbors, colleagues, clients, and more. I want to share a story with you from one of my extended family, my colleague, Ann Quinlan. She tells a beautiful tale of two elders from her past; the story reminds us of something important as we look forward to the holidays. Here, I pass it on to you, members of our Beach Glass Family.
“Growing up in Ireland, the youngest of five, I relished the long walk through the back fields to Greengage House, the home of retired school teacher sisters, Maeve and Ellen Rooney. Sitting on their highest kitchen stool, feasting on hot cocoa and thickly buttered homemade bread, I was transported into a world of mythology, story, and love in action. These encounters sparkled as brightly as the snow-covered hills at sunset. Their arguments on everything from politics to their favorite teaching moments would inevitably melt into side-splitting laughter, for all three of us.
Long-stilled, their voices and laughter live inside me as a beautiful reminder of nonjudgemental compassion and love. It is important to remember that aging is not a disease – it’s a lifelong process in which we all share the journey. You might ask yourself, who are the elders from my past? How did they mentor or influence the direction of my life? How might I connect with those who live around me, that I may glean from their wisdom? With their years of experience, they will have colorful tales to tell. No doubt, they will also delight in hearing your story. “ ~Excerpt from Elders in the Mist by Ann Quinlan.
For members of the extended Beach Glass Family! Click to view larger image.
