The Welcome Table: An Annual Online Thanksgiving Meal
[Melissa stands up, taps her fork against her glass, and clears her throat. The conversation around the table dies down. She looks at everyone at the table.]
We do this every year: Come together as a community and have a virtual meal before we scatter to our actual meals. Unless, that is, you do not celebrate Thanksgiving. But I hope that you’ll join the table for virtual food and company even if you don’t follow this tradition offline.
We’ve virtually eaten together since 2009. That’s when this tradition began. There are some people hurting at this table. For some people, this pre-meal is what gets them through their real meal later in the week. People have written that they’ve printed out this yearly post and comments and left the paper in their purse because it helped to have a tangible reminder that there were people out there who got it. Who weren’t going to ask them when they were going to hurry up and have children. Who weren’t going to cringe when someone spoke the name of a child they lost.
We are all so different. All of us. Around this table. But we have this one facet of our lives — and yes, even though it may be a big, overpowering one for you right now, it is only one facet of who you are — where we overlap: infertility or adoption or loss. And I am so thankful, so grateful, that I found all of you. Everyone needs a You-shaped space where they can be themselves. And that’s what I have here.
So every year, I ask people to bring a virtual dish to our meal. Place it in the comment section, explaining what you brought and why. And say anything else you need to say before sitting back down to enjoy the company. Update about where you are; your emotional state.
We’re an international group, hailing from countries all around the world. So while Thanksgiving is an American tradition, I hope that everyone around the world feels as if they can participate. (Especially our Canadian neighbours who celebrated Thanksgiving weeks ago.) I’d love for your dish to come from your culture or country. Don’t worry about the contents on the table clashing.
As always, I am bringing stuffing. It’s comfort food; mushy and soggy and warm.
So what did you bring and what do you want to say to the community?
And please, start eating as everyone is introducing their dish. We don’t want the food to get cold and there are so many of us at this table. Thank you so much for coming, and I’m going to carry the warmth of this meal with me for the rest of this week.
7 comments
I love this tradition and look forward to it every year. I am bringing apple pie. It’s full of cinnamon, sweet and tart. I make great apple pie and it’s the perfect end to this meal. I’m thankful for this space and everyone in it. Thank you, Mel, and happy Thanksgiving!
I don’t remember what I brought last year, but this year I’d like to bring a platter of roasted root veggies and some pumpkin gravy and cranberry chutney to go with it!
Happy Thanksgiving to you, yours, and all the guests here <3
I’m bringing something a little different this year… a few weeks ago we went for dinner at dh’s cousin’s house, and his wife made this really tasty salad/veggie dish with quinoa, sweet potato, kale, red onion, pomegranate seeds and pumpkin seeds… I couldn’t stop thinking about it and messaged her for the recipe. I just made some for lunches this week too, and I’m happy to share! (Feel free to play around & make substitutions — the original recipe calls for butternut squash; you can use spinach instead of kale, and I used Craisins instead of the dried cranberries in the recipe or the pomegranate she used.)
https://www.wellplated.com/butternut-squash-quinoa-salad/
So thankful for my blog, this community and all the wonderful people I’ve met here. Happy Thanksgiving, American friends! 🙂
I’m about to go make a couple of pies in preparation for tomorrow. So I’m bringing a cherry pie and a pumpkin pie. I love the Thanksgiving meal so much, so thank you everyone! Wishing us all lots of moments of peace, gratitude, and laughter <3
I’ll bring turkey this year, as we will have far too much of it. I’ll make some gravy too, since it goes with it. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!
Hello! Happy to be here. I’ll bring some roasted brussel sprouts because veggies balance out all the carbs and I learned to make these taste good 😀 I’m in a good place and holding space for those who are not. Hugs and peace to all!
I always love this idea. Our numbers at your table may be dwindling, but the love and heart will be the same. There’s no lack of that in this community.
Usually I bring something like a kiwi pavlova, but a) it sounds like there are lots of pies at the table, b) this year I want to bring something different. It’s asparagus season here at the moment, and yesterday I found a recipe for asparagus with asparagus-bottoms aioli. (I had to think for a minute what asparagus-bottoms actually were, but now I love the idea of making an asparagus-flavoured oil with the bottom parts of the stem which I might normally discard.) It’s healthy, delicious, and reduces food waste! lol
Happy Thanksgiving to all my US friends. Sending love.