Thanksgiving for fifteen years always included Nana and Papa. We went to Nashville to visit Nana’s brother our first Thanksgiving back in the States in 2005. Less than a year later, he’d passed away. We haven’t been back to Nashville since.

From that point, we went to Papa’s side of the family every year. There were various cousins, aunts, and uncles there — never the same group — but there were always two that never changed: Nana and Papa.

During our first Thanksgiving without Nana in 2019, we all went for a portrait and took Nana with us — the wound was still raw for everyone, but especially Papa. His first Thanksgiving without Nana in forever.

This is our first Thanksgiving without either of them. The plan to go visit Aunt D, who helped take care of Nana when she first came back from rehab, fell through as did our plan to visit with cousins. Our Polish family from North Carolina — family in all ways that count, at any rate — had other plans for Thanksgiving, so we spent it just the four of us. Without turkey.

But with games. What’s Thanksgiving without games?

Previous Years

Thanksgiving 2020

Thanksgiving 2019

Thanksgiving 2018

Thanksgiving 2017

Thanksgiving 2016

Thanksgiving 2015

Thanksgiving 2013

Thanksgiving 2012

Thanksgiving 2011

Family and Food: Thanksgiving 2010

Interrupted

Fourth Thursday

Thanksgiving Games

Thanksgiving 2006

Thanksgiving 2005