Thanksgiving Series

Matthew Ladis and Kandace Ladis discuss the drive on their way to Thanksgiving plans on November 24, 2022. (Ladis 2022/SMU)

A man watches his coworkers play indoor soccer at Garland Indoor Soccer World on November 24, 2022. (Ladis 2022/SMU)

Brothers Augie and Arturo pass out barbacoa tacos they prepared at Garland Indoor Soccer World on November 24, 2022. (Ladis 2022/SMU)

A man and his daughter take a break from playing soccer at Garland Indoor Soccer World on November 24, 2022. (Ladis 2022/SMU)

Amanda Lee and Kandace Ladis clean the kitchen after the Thanksgiving meal in Plano, TX on November 24, 2022. (Ladis 2022/SMU)

Patrick and Kaylee Franklin work on a puzzle together after their Thanksgiving meal in Plano, TX on November 24, 2022. (Ladis 2022/SMU)

Matthew Ladis adds a Thanksgiving treat to his dog's food bowls in his home on November 24, 2022. (Ladis 2022/SMU)

This was definitely the least “traditional” Thanksgiving I have ever had. Originally I did not think that my extended family planned a Thanksgiving lunch like we do every year. When making plans for this holiday my mom told me we had to attend her work event and we were having our own meal at home but left out that my aunt had invited us to the yearly family meal.

We started the morning by driving out to Garland Indoor Soccer World and in true Ladis family fashion, we were running late. My mom works for a local Tex-Mex restaurant chain and every year they close all the restaurants on Thanksgiving day and host an indoor soccer tournament where each location competes against the other. Everyone’s families gather to watch and eat food prepared by the culinary director and his brother.

After about an hour of watching indoor soccer, my family headed out to see our relatives. My dad is the youngest of four siblings who each have 3-5 children and some of them are now having their own kids. Usually, the gatherings are large, loud and lively. However, when we walked in we were surprised to see only a handful of people sitting at the table chatting. This was the first year since Covid that my family even tried to gather on a holiday, but life still got in the way. Many people were visiting other sides of the family, one of my cousins had a one-week-old baby and the rest planned to catch up on Christmas.

The low numbers did not stop us from our yearly tradition of puzzling while my aunts yelled at each other to stop cleaning in the cleaning and the uncles were glued to whatever football team was playing. After only about an hour we decided to pack up and head home. We set a new record for attending all our holiday obligations by making it home in about 3 hours, but we were not finished with the day's festivities.

My mom was set on making her own thanksgiving meal even though we already had two family meals that day. We gathered in the kitchen to eat the same meal again while we watched the Cowboys game. The day was anything but traditional for me, but it was an adventure and I am thankful for time with my family.