When I host Thanksgiving, I encourage my guests to write on the wall. It's a tradition we began a few years ago. (I've since forgotten where I first found the idea.) On the wall between the kitchen and dining room, I stretch a piece of white butcher paper. Each guest chooses a colored pencil, each person with a different color. And the outpouring of thanks giving begins.
In a Scrabble®-esque fashion we write single words for the blessings in our lives. We are rather free-form. Usually a little one writes first, out of eagerness... and the rest join in no particular order or turn taking... until all pencils are put to paper at once. Little ones writing (or coloring) low, and adults arching over. Depending on your number of guests it can come to look as much like a game of Twister® as a game of Scrabble®! Some memories bring breathless little-boy laughter.
Personalities are easy to see. Some chatter as they write. Some are quietly reflective. Some write with everyone in that initial flurry and move on. Some come later, on their own... reading... writing... as the aromas build and dishes fill. I watch the wall bloom... and my heart swells.
Sometimes we write on the wall at Thanksgiving, counting our blessings.... sometimes on New Year's Eve, naming events of the year and hopes for the next. Sometimes we've had four generations at that wall... sometimes just me and my little men. Sometimes the boys will ask me to leave it up for a week or so. Always we roll that paper up feeling full... so much to be thankful for... so much to look forward to.
If you are looking for a simple, meaningful new tradition this year... maybe you could ask your guests to write on the wall.
From our hearts to your home,
Susan
