November 19, 2023 Madison, Mississippi. Traditions

Good afternoon, folks! This is Mary Frances Dickie (granddaughter #4), coming to you live from Grandma's living room. Over my lifetime, we have always had some sort of meal-centric tradition. When my family lived in Bethesda, MD, we would get together with Grandma and Grandpa on Wednesday nights for dinner. Sometimes they would bring dinner to us, and sometimes we would bring it to them. On very special nights, Grandpa would make a delicious stew. When we moved down to Mississippi, the tradition shifted to Sunday brunch and has stayed the same ever since. Whenever Grandma and Grandpa were in town, we would have a Sunday meal together and catch up. So today, my mother Christina, my little sister Molly, and I have brought our Sunday brunch to Grandma's house: waffles and hashbrowns and bacon and eggs from Waffle House, per Grandma's request. 

There is nothing quite like breakfast food when you crave it. And there is nothing quite like sharing a special meal with family and friends. Anna and Abe have driven down from Pennsylvania to join us in Mississippi, and we have enjoyed catching up with them. We are blessed to have a place to sit and eat together, looking out over the Reservoir, where white pelicans are currently dive-bombing their own Sunday brunch. And Molly has just begun putting out Christmas decorations, including a bottle full of colorful lights, a table centerpiece of pinecones and berries, and an ornament that looks like a pig with wings. "Prettiness all around," Grandma says. 

You might think we're jumping the gun putting out Christmas decorations, but why wait till after Thanksgiving? We Dickies tend to follow tradition only when it makes sense. For example, most people have turkey on Thanksgiving, but we've learned over the years that we prefer steak. So this Thursday, we will have steak as our main course. What a treat! And with school, work, and life getting so much busier after Thanksgiving break, sometimes it's hard to find the time to break out your garlands and ornaments and numerous Santa Claus figurines. Therefore, we make do with the time that we have, and put them out before Thanksgiving. Decorations are all on display at my mother's house, too! 

As the holidays approach, we are so thankful for the time we get to spend with family and friends. My sisters and I are especially thankful to have always had traditional time carved out to spend with our grandparents. We look forward to it every week, and we look forward to more family time this coming Thursday.