Contributor Perspectives

Five Mindfray Contributors share what Thanksgiving means to them

Jeffrey Oropeza

For me, Thanksgiving is a tradition of family and humility. This day is special because it’s the once-a-year opportunity for our entire family to gather together, make food, and catch up.

My family is spread out all over the country, so this is no small feat for everyone to gather in one place. But that’s part of why Thanksgiving is so special. Everyone makes a concerted effort to travel and celebrate the occasion in one location: my grandparent’s home.

Even throughout the years, as my family has grown and the location has changed – my grandparents moved from California to Oregon a little while back – there’s a sense of nostalgia that I get to experience each time our whole family gets together on Thanksgiving.

I am truly thankful for the opportunity that Thanksgiving provides me to spend time with the extended family. I really enjoy seeing my grandparents, sisters, aunts, uncles, and cousins, and I get excited every year for the chance to see them all.

Apart from the time catching up and making food – my whole family could be considered foodies – we have a unique tradition of wine tasting that everyone gets to enjoy. My uncle is a vintner in Napa, and each Thanksgiving he brings an assortment of new wines that we all get to taste and discuss. It’s the little activities like this that I get to enjoy with the whole family that makes me so thankful for this holiday. No matter how things change over time, Thanksgiving is a special day to celebrate family and tradition that brings back fond memories and provides enjoyment each time.

Jeffrey OropezaBay Area writer that likes running, food, innovation, and originality.

Lauren Bruno

I have a strong belief that, where food is, community gathers. Thanksgiving always reminds me of that thought. The day intrigues me, because, unlike other holidays, its primary construct involves preparing and eating food. Though food is an integral part of any celebration, it is the main course (pun intended) of Thanksgiving.

Every year, we spend hours snacking on appetizers while our turkey bakes. Family and friends gather over hors d’oeuveres to catch each other up on our lives. Though the conversations have developed more depth and intellectuality as the years go on, I always leave Thanksgiving with stronger relationships than I started with.

For that reason, I look forward to it each year. I love getting the chance to talk, joke, laugh, and, most importantly, eat with the people I love most. With careful reflection of our fleeting thankfulness of that year, I am annually reminded of the steadfast thankfulness I have for my family. They are my community no matter where I live or which city I call my home. I can always look forward to returning to the same people, just to find out how much we’ve grown and changed in a year’s time. And, somehow, it always makes me love them more.

Simply said, Thanksgiving is a day to gather, eat, commune, cherish, and celebrate the joy of being with the people we love.

Lauren BrunoBSN, RN

Karen De Joseph

Thanksgiving – or turkey day – is my time of year to commemorate the reconnection of family and celebrate the good things in life. If you will, it is like pressing the pause button, then experiencing the comfort of home, good food and drink, and family fun just being yourself. For a moment, all of the challenges and stress I face daily, such as constant expectations, time constraints, deadlines, unpredictable problems, and the demands of work, just go away.

I also use this as an opportunity to reflect on life, but I try to mostly focus on the positive aspects of how the year has played out. This by no means suggests that all went well, but I reflect on how I was able to get through the difficult times and remember the good parts.

Additionally, Thanksgiving is a time of solemn contemplation as I feel the loss of my loved ones that I used to celebrate the holiday with but are no longer here. My brother, grandmother, and father help me to remember how we must take time to celebrate life while we still have time. During our Thanksgiving celebration our family is bonded together sharing the common memories of past celebrations, and making new memories.

Smells of golden brown turkey cooking in the oven, chocolate mousse pie and other desserts covering the table, gingerbread house building contests, board games, the Christmas Vacation and Elf movies playing on the TV, and laughter with simultaneous conversations. These are the memories I have of Thanksgiving past, and I am anticipating the good times to come with future Thanksgiving celebrations.

Karen De JosephPublic Health Nurse serving the community. BSN, RN, PHN.

Megan Duensing

Thanksgiving means coming together as a family – whether related by blood or not – and sharing a meal. Many people think it’s cheesy to stand in a circle, hands intertwined, and say one-by-one what you are thankful for. But to me, it’s not cheesy at all. It nudges us to reflect on the good we have in our life and reminds us of who we are surrounded by to help guide us through the bad. Thanksgiving means the world to me because all the people I love take a day to celebrate gratitude and being together as a family.

Megan Duensing

Christopher A. Bruno

Thanksgiving is always a joyous occasion filled with family, food, and entertainment. Growing up in a close-knit family, Thanksgiving is another opportunity for everyone to congregate in one location to partake in way too much food and bountiful conversation.

Being part of an Italian family, the atmosphere is filled with a cacophony of loud voices conversing with each other. It’s a festive occasion where everyone is greeting one another, discussing a multitude of topics, cooking, and watching TV or playing games. Thanksgiving brings a sense of familiarity from the boisterous environment and often times chaotic get together that is my family.

For me, food plays an integral role in celebrating the Thanksgiving holiday. On a holiday that is already associated with eating, my mother and grandmother take it to a whole new level. Besides the traditional food, such as turkey and mashed potatoes, my grandmother makes homemade pasta to commemorate the occasion and my mom prepares enough desserts to feed a small army. While we always give them a hard time for making so much food, we all know that it’s done out of love.

And that’s what Thanksgiving means to me, it’s a celebration of family and love for one other. Regardless of how things have gone that year, there is something special about the feeling of love, connection, and support that permeates throughout our family gathering. To me, that’s what Thanksgiving is all about.

Christopher A. Bruno"The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams."