One bitter February night, my broken, grafted family gathered for the first time to celebrate Thanksgiving. When we enjoyed a surprisingly peaceful meal, it brought me great comfort.
My charming, infuriating dad had cheated death the November before, and missed Thanksgiving. His two ex-wives, two daughters, long-time girlfriend Stephanie, and my stepfather all gathered at the table that night.
There had been ugly, volatile scenes in my family.
But not that night.
Ever since, I’ve cherished our annual Thanksgiving in February celebration. I’ve worked to tell our story — with hope it will inspire some peace in other families. Because peace is powerful.
I told this story from the TEDxPSU stage in 2019. I’m delighted to share it with you here and on my blog devoted to finding peace through love stories of all kinds: ThanksgivinginFebruary.com.
First, my dad and I had to make peace. He’d wanted to be a family man but just couldn’t control his weakness for other women. He’d left the heavy lifting of raising his daughters to his ex-wives.
Yet, I couldn’t help but love him. And he never stopped trying to reconcile.
The heroes that lovely February night were his ex-wives and longtime girlfriend, Stephanie, who had loved and stuck with him for decades. Because she loved him, all this was possible.
The women had been rivals, but found a way to move beyond the ugly past into a peaceful, festive tradition.
Thanksgiving in February, the text version.
My TEDxPSU talk, Feb. 10, 2019: