Grateful Chaos

Last Thanksgiving feels like a lifetime ago. We were going through the motions, barely speaking to each other except about logistics. Who’s bringing what, what time dinner starts, the kind of surface-level planning that happens when you’re afraid to go deeper.

This year?

Grateful Chaos

Pure beautiful chaos and I’m here for all of it. Mom’s been here since 6 AM making her tamales (the recipe she guards like state secrets), Dad’s telling the same story about his first Thanksgiving in America for the fifteenth time, and I’m actually listening this time instead of just waiting for my turn to talk. Sophie appointed herself head sous chef and takes the job very seriously. Theo… well, Theo appointed himself head taste tester of everything within reach.

I keep catching myself just watching it all unfold. The mess, the laughter, the way Marcus quietly refills everyone’s drinks without being asked. The way Sophie actually wants to help instead of hiding in her room. The way Theo’s face lights up when Abuela Rosa lets him help set the table. This time last year I thought we might not make it to this Thanksgiving. I’m so glad I was wrong.

Grateful doesn’t even begin to cover it. But it’s a start.