Gabe and Gula

Gabe

Sitting in our living room with a cup of hot cocoa in my hands watching a movie with my sister and mother, I could hear the sound of a shotgun coming from the top of our hill.

“I bet that was them,” my mother would say. I was never one for waking up at 3:30 a.m. to sit out in the cold for hours waiting for a fat bird to walk by, but my brother and father sure were.

A half hour later, we could see them break through the trees laughing and high-fiving with a turkey draped over my father’s shoulder.

Part one of Thanksgiving – waiting for the bird – was the easiest, but part two, on the other hand, was like torture. Smelling the food cook and the aroma of sweet potatoes, turkey, stuffing and mashed potatoes before you can actually eat it is the worst. But, of course, I am the kind of person that sneaks behind my mother, snagging slivers of turkey before everything is done.

My favorite part of Thanksgiving is sitting down around the table, grabbing a family member’s hand and praying and giving thanks for the simple things in life. I, as well as many people, don’t give thanks often enough for my home, food, water and family. But this holiday reminds all of us of the importance of not taking things for granted.

It will be a different Thanksgiving this year, however, just my mother, father and me. With my brother and sister married and moving forward, I give thanks for their progress. Even though they will be missed, I will enjoy the company of my parents and the joy of knowing that I get more food because there are less people in the house. Have a Great Thanksgiving.

-Gabe Fowler

Gula

Thanksgiving has never been that important of a holiday in the Gula household.

My mom is one of seven kids, so for as long as I can remember, every holiday has consisted of going over to my grandparents’ house and having a huge family dinner. In that respect, I guess it’s sort of important. Twenty-some people all crammed around a huge table tends to be a big deal, no matter how many times a year it happens.

But besides the table full of turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and all the other main Turkey Day foods, I would hardly call that part of the holiday any more memorable than any other one. It’s more of a big and sometimes crazy family gathering where we eat great food and spend the whole day chatting.

In my mind, one of the best parts of Thanksgiving is before the “official” festivities. My immediate family spends all of Thanksgiving morning taking Christmas boxes down out of the attic. Between the outside and inside decorations and the boxes of stuff for the tree, we spend most of the day occupied with that.

And rather than Black Friday shopping, our entire day is spent “Christmasifying” our house, inside and out. As a college student who doesn’t get to spend much time with his family anymore, that time is by far my favorite part of Thanksgiving.

-Drew Gula