Holiday Adventures and Traditions

One of the most enduring adventures of our father/son relationship these past 17 years has been our volunteer work at our church program for mental health consumers.  Most of our guests come from boarding homes or live on the street and lack the connection with family activities.  As part of our monthly dinner and entertainment program, Alex and I have been blessed with the tradition of cooking and carving the turkeys for our Thanksgiving feast. 

Years ago, Alex would sit in his carseat up on the counter as I carved up the five, twenty pound birds.  As the years passed, he was able to start pulling the dark meat and pick up the breast slices for the platters.  Finally, he was old enough to wield the knife himself and join in the carving.

This past year, he stood next to me as we decided to carve the breasts table side to make it extra special for our guests.  What an amazing feeling to be shoulder to shoulder with my son, helping others and marking the passage of time with this great tradition.  I felt pure bliss, wishing that I could freeze that moment in time forever.