Thanksgiving - A Great American Tradition

As many people know, United States is the first country with a holiday called Thanksgiving. Me, being from Mexico didn’t grow up with this tradition but was introduced to it by my friend Laura back in Arizona. Laura and her great family loved to have international students at their home to celebrate Thanksgiving. They explained the different dishes and how the tradition was born.

They also introduced me to their very own tradition, which I loved and hope to replicate and pass along in the near future. Each person at the table will get three candy corns by their placements. Once we were all sitting, Laura and her sisters explained the significance of the candy corns. Each of them represented something that we were grateful for. So every person at the table had the opportunity to raise each of their candy corns and give thanks for whatever that candy corn meant to them. That happened in 2004, so I don’t remember exactly what I was thankful for but I am sure one was for my family and friends, one for God and one for Laura’s family.

Not only we had a great big lunch but went for a long walk around Fountain Hills where they have the tallest man-made fountain in the country and enjoyed playing games. I had a great time all together.

After that celebration, I learned that there are many other ways to spend Thanksgiving, some people do it in front of the TV watching football, and some others drag the time they will have to spend with their family or others travel long distances to sit at the table with their love ones and friends. I spent many Thanksgiving only with my husband and learned to enjoy our lunch for two. We always had a good time together.

This year, Thanksgiving will be again something very close to what I have been hoping for, surrounded by family, sharing good food and laughs. Since we moved to MA, holidays are celebrations that remind me of my own family. My husband has a family that is close to each other and makes a point to meet for the special occasions (they are also loud like my family). I am happy to be part of this family. I am definitely a social animal.

Also, Thanksgiving is a celebration that is about making a gratitude list and not about gifts or pressure. It is a great tradition if you ask me! And it is the kick off for the Holiday season, my favorite!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Good bye Fall!

Well, it seems that we are almost at the end of the Fall. Everyone over here raved about how beautiful the Fall was, the change in the leaves colors etc, etc. I had to witness it in order to understand it.

Now I think…Fall is amazing! You have to remember that I come from a country where we don’t have this extreme season changes so I never experienced Fall before. In AZ we only have summer and less hot weather, so Fall is out of the question. But here in the New England area things are different.

My husband begged me to take walks with him so we could see the leaves…I am glad I gave in, we got some amazing pictures and I was in awe to be in the presence of nature. Then I started thinking about how being able to live through the seasons makes me feel closer to nature. Going through the changes reminds me on how our own lives go through cycles; we grow, blossom and then time to rest and renewal comes to blossom again.

It is definitely getting cooler here and I hate the fact that at 5pm the sun (if it shows up) is gone and everything is so dark (I will devote a posting on this) but I am learning to take it as part of the cycle and trying to enjoy it…more time at home to spend with Luci (the dog) and my husband. Time to read and cultivate the mind again.

Here are some pictures that allow me to show you what I am talking about:

Thank you Patriots Fans!

Ok, so I have said before I am a transplant from Mexico City/ Arizona to New England. As everyone knows, people from New England are sportsfanatics; they love the Red Sox, Patriots, Bruins and Celtics. I think this is one of the only places where men AND women wear sports apparel of their favorite teams year long with no shame whatsoever.

And I am married to one of this loonies. My husband got tickets for the Patriots game against the Vikings. For a week he went back and forth with his friend about menu options, times to meet etc, etc, etc. For the whole week I cried to everyone that would listen that I would invest 8 hours of my life in a game that I didn’t care for and that I would much rather spend the money (and time) doing something else.

Sunday came along, I fought all morning with my hubby about stupid little things because I was expecting him to throw me out of the car (close to a Mall) and go to the game without me. But he is a trooper and a devoted husband so he just rolled his eyes and took me to the game.

And now I owe him a public apology. I had a GREAT time! Being there, tailgating with all the Patriotsfanatics and being part of that moment gave me a glimpse of why people love so much the game. For few hours everyone was pretty happy, eating, drinking, dancing, meeting people and smiling at each other because all of them had one thing in common, they wanted their team to win and have a good time. I think that is a reflection of the American culture.

So I had a chance to meet with very cool people that are open to share their foods and drinks with everyone, then went inside the Gillette Stadium, that is a gorgeous place, and had a great old time all together. Here are some pictures:

I don’t know if I would ever be a Patriotfanatic but I sure understand why people love the game.  And I do like the American way. When they want something, good attitude, positive thinking and a lot of hard work get them there and it seems that this coming elections will represent that culture one more time. They don’t like what they see and they are ready to go and change it.

As for me, Go Patriots! And Go Tom Brady!