CreatorWorship

Times, they are a changin’. My extended family has had a Thanksgiving tradition that has built up over 35+ years. We gather at my oldest brother’s house, eat lunch together, play flag football, watch a football game, go for a hike the next day, and meet back at my brother’s house for “haystacks” (1). Other parts to this tradition, like night-before soup supper have come and gone. Number of attendees at this gathering have varied from somewhere in the teens to over 60. Visits to in-laws, children, sickness, friends and classmates have caused a constant flux in the numbers. This year there were 24 souls in attendance, greatly reduced from just a few years ago. That did not dampen our joy at sharing the thankfulness for all that God has provided, family being high on the list. My generation, the four siblings were there, however, I am the only one from that generation who still plays in the flag football game. The group agreed that the next morning, which was supposed to have temperatures in the teens, was not a good time to hike for young and old. I convinced my older brother to go out on a hike anyway. Though I have hiked many places over many years, I had never been in Frozen Head State Park. He said that there was a 3-mile hike to a waterfall. It was far better than not going at all, and the prospect of just two of us meant that we could converse more deeply and catch up.

Present pursuits have limited my hiking and blogging. It explains why three days before our First Advent Celebration (2), I am just now blogging about a Thanksgiving hike. Pictures and commentary at “Two Frozen Head Waterfalls.”

1. “Haystacks”, as my sister-in-law labeled them, is an individual’s mixture of salad parts topped with meat (turkey most usually or ground beef), cheese, salsa, beans, and whatever else is available and lacking whatever the individual does not prefer.
2. It doesn’t slip off the tongue quite so easily as Merry Christmas, nor does it meet traditional muster, but it is more accurate.