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As we were winding down our Thanksgiving holiday at the Roberts’ family gathering, my 94-year-old mother, reflecting on the wonderful few days asked, “Who’s going to write this story?” Since she was looking at me, I said, “I’ll try.”

            The gathering was almost 100% complete with just two members absent. We missed them, but with all the “goings-on” in everyone’s lives these days, missing only two was remarkable. Who knows what next year brings, with mother’s age and our busy lives. The good news is that one of our clan is expecting a baby, so next year will include someone we haven’t seen before!

            The nuclear family, as it used to be called, is growing older. I’ve already mentioned my mother, but the same is true for my two siblings and me. We’re thankful. The aging is better than the alternative and we seem to be holding up pretty well.   

            At the same time, there was definitely a passing of the torch. By that I mean, many of the traditional efforts of our Thanksgiving were assumed by our family’s millennials. Let me explain these generational aspects.

            My mother is part of the “Greatest Generation,” those who were born in years that made them old enough to carry our nation through World War II. After that Great War, our population boomed and millions were born. The next generation was known as “The Baby Boomers.” That includes my brother, me, and my sister.

            When we Boomers married and had children, that generation was named “The Millennials.” Their children are, mostly, a part of Generation Z. Mind you, these generational identifications are not an exact science, but I basically wanted to say that most of us Boomers are being replaced by Millennials and Zoomers.        

It was clear in our Thanksgiving holidays that many of the traditions that have been carried by us Boomers have now been picked up by our children and that’s a good thing to see. We, sometimes, think that, once we’re out of the picture, the picture fades. Not necessarily so.

            My generation still holds sway in many areas, but it’s satisfying to see a new generation taking on the responsibilities of those traditions that we have enjoyed. Here’s another thing. Until we see the new generation act upon these traditions, we don’t know how they will do. In our case, they did just fine.

            For instance, on Wednesday night of Thanksgiving week, the meal has, for decades, been country fried steak, rice and gravy, and perhaps another dish. My daddy started that tradition a long time ago and, after he was unable to continue it, the mantle was passed to my brother or sister. They are still able, I guess, to do it, but for the past few years, the frying of steak and the making of the gravy has passed to my brother’s son, a millennial.

            Much of the Thanksgiving dinner is still being prepared by my Boomer sister and I have some responsibilities, like cooking the greens. So, we old-timers are hanging in there!

            We wouldn’t want to lose any weight over the holidays so breakfast is really important. Breakfast includes regular fried eggs, sausage, bacon, and, at the center, cheese grits! Papa, as we called daddy, was a genius at cooking cheese grits and, thankfully, passed his acumen to all of us.

            Cheese grits just don’t fall out of the sky and neither do the pancakes on Friday morning after Thanksgiving. That breakfast tradition has been assumed by my sister’s son, another millennial.

            It was evident and gratifying to see our children pick up these familial institutions and do them so well. We are prone to think our future is not too bright. We may be wrong!