October is the beginning of fall and a couple of fun celebrations. For Thanksgiving the iBand had many similar themes like spending time together with family and friends, good food and enjoying the fall colours. Carolyn remembers driving to Cornwall and admiring the fall colours along the 401. Rhonda remembers when her dad was alive they would go for a ride or walk to look at the fall colours.
Samantha usually has a quiet Thanksgiving with just her mom, dad, sister and grandma and our neighbor, Peter who joins us for dinner. Carolyn has a larger family that she goes back to her home town of Cornwall to see. Irene remembers Thanksgiving at her brother’s house, where her whole family is there including her favourite grandmother who will be 99 next month. Shirley has many happy memories at her cottage in Bala where she had family and friends visit and help with all the work of closing a cottage. Shirley remembers blending “the chores with long walks to gather leaves to decorate the cottage, sharing the last boat ride, singing songs around the piano, and sharing our dreams for the future.”
For many of us the good food includes turkey with stuffing, gravy, cranberry sauce and for Rhonda, especially pumpkin pie. Not everyone has had the Canadian tradition of turkey for Thanksgiving. Elaine W grew up in England where they celebrated a Harvest Festival, which was more of a religious celebration. For Rebecca, Thanksgiving was something she learned about at school and she didn’t celebrate it until she had her own family. She found the hustle and bustle of a Thanksgiving meal being prepared and then being dismantled, was an experience she enjoyed. Moshe usually has a traditional Thanksgiving but last year with a new baby and the pandemic he celebrated with sushi and wine. Gabriel is looking forward to spending time with his new nephew and reminds us that we should all be thankful for family and good friends. Moshe’s experience also “brought our little family closer than ever and reminded us how important family is”.
October also includes Halloween and Audrey remembers going on a bus tour with her sister to see a Musical at the Stratford Festival Theatre and had an opportunity to try on some of the costumes. It looks like Audrey had a lot of fun!!
By Samantha Millar and Carolyn Henry
with assistance from Julie Millar and Glynis Henry
