At Thanksgiving, and through the Holidays, I made rolls. I did a lot of other stuff, but honestly, I've never made so much dough before. The night before Thanksgiving I made enough dough to produce about four-hundred rolls. These are the famous ones that every Facer has grown up with. In my twenties it kinda bothered me that we celebrated gratitude with such amazing excess. I was sure that we had entirely lost the sense of constant background hunger that was a nearly permanent fixture of early pilgrims and pioneers; that a big meal with so many choices wouldn't be meaningful to us in the same way that it was to those who had nearly starved to death the prior winter. And it's not. How could it be?
But I've made peace with the excesses of Thanksgiving and the Holidays. I've learned to avoid overeating, and try a little bit of each tasty dish or treat that neighbors share. With such a large and connected family, our gatherings are large and most of us will bring something, so there will be many choices. This gives us an opportunity to think of others as we prepare something awesome. And second, a chance to sample the best efforts of people we love. The treats that neighbors leave on our doorstep help us be mindful of those around us and give us an opportunity to appreciate them. Who out there knew that I absolutely adore pomegranates?!? Maybe it was just lucky, but I choose to believe in the greater interconnectedness of things.
Gratitude is central to all of that.
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