A History of the Gardner-Lazarowitz Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. It always has been, and always will be. We always do it in North Jersey with all of my mom's family (we're way closer to my mom's family than my dad's), where, although it changes slightly every year, it always ends up being rather similar to the stereotypical American Thanksgiving. When I was little all of the kids in the family and a few adults willing to brave the crowds would take us into the city the night before where we'd get a couple of hotel rooms within walking distance to Columbus Circle where the main part of the Macy's Parade happens. That morning we'd get up bright and early and journey over where we'd watch most of the parade, and then leave before the traffic out got nightmarish. As we grew older we gradually stopped going into the city to watch the parade and took on a more "let's just hang out and play video games" attitude. My Aunt Sue, who always put on our Thanksgivings, would cook the world's best turkey meatballs while sneaking up stairs every hour or so to give all the kids cookies. Then she'd throw this huge meal for the entire family and afterwards would have tons of her friends plus all the family for dessert. Yet, these idealistic, amazing Thanksgivings came to a sudden halt when Aunt Sue was diagnosed with cancer. Thanksgiving moved to our house in Kentucky where we'd have about half of my mom's family and a little bit of my dad's. Although Aunt Sue's presence was dearly missed, we'd always call her on "her" holiday and tell her how thankful we are of her. For three years she battled cancer and won, going into remission from December 2006 to December 2007. We once again had Thanksgiving in North Jersey, and it was the best one to date. Two weeks afterwards, she went in for her monthly MRI and was informed that her brain cancer had returned, stronger than ever. She passed away that June at the young age of 44, leaving behind a devoted husband and a pubescent, only child. For the next two years Thanksgiving came back to Kentucky with vastly smaller numbers of family, as most people chose to shun the holiday all together. Finally, this past year we chose to do it back in North Jersey for the first-post Sue Thanksgiving. It was different. Different people, different food, even a different house as they had recently renovated the entire residence, but still the same feelings. We had fun, with different people taking over lost roles, and although it will never be the same, it will always be my favorite.