We experience Thanksgiving on so many different levels.

Yesterday was the anniversary of Dad's death.  And Thanksgiving. Our family, in its dozens and dozens,  gathered in different places and shared meals of different kinds and told stories and sang songs.  We were not all able to be together this year---our family is connected to other families-- and for some of us,  we are the anchor for the Thanksgiving gatherings of those folks.   In our case,  Mary and I hosted Mary's Mom and Dad and a small collection of in-laws and descendants.  Don and Everthiki were the anchor hosts for their family for years but can no longer play that role.  Which is fine.  We love bringing people together for sharing meals and holidays and recalling the past.  And I know that feeling is the standard among our fellow Porters and their partners.  


Which brings me back to Dad, and the days surrounding his death four years ago.  As I reflect on it,  I see clearly that his passing was an unexpected gift to all of us.  It brought more of us together in one place and with common purpose than had ben the case probably since his birthday party some years earlier.   Dad was a passionate believer in family and also generously welcomed others who made connections with us,  inviting them to see and understand what our experience of family was about.   Today that memory and thought reawaken a sense of closeness to my father,  a recollection of those last days when I had a real awareness of 'presence' even though Dad wasn't able to converse.  I feel him beside me still.