Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. Having raised kids, Christmas, Easter, Fourth of July and Halloween have all been big deals, too, but Thanksgiving is my favorite.

It’s my favorite because of gang, grub and, most importantly, gratitude.

My mother had four boys and one girl. She knew that each of us would marry and have a second family with whom we would have to share time. Wanting the family to come together at least once a year, she told us she wanted Thanksgiving. Our other family could have their choice of all the other holidays as long as we could come together on the fourth Thursday of November.

And that’s what we’ve done every year. I didn’t attend during three of my four years in the U.S. Air Force but have spent every other Thanksgiving since 1961 with my family.

We watch football. The kids play football in the backyard. We share stories. It’s a very Norman Rockwell setting.

We have lost out on the homemade pies since mom’s passing in 2001. The pies we’ve had since are good but not like mom used to make. Otherwise, the menu is the same as it’s always been. My brother Dan, who has been the host for the past two decades, makes the turkeys, stuffing and a pot of green chili.

Everyone else has a specialty that they bring each year. I’m the mashed potato king. It’s a big crowd, often more than 40 people, and with a name like Fitzgerald, you know that potatoes are popular. I’ll mash a 20-pound bag of spuds.

I’ll be mashing a much smaller bag this year. Dan will be gone and each of us has chosen to have a more intimate holiday with our immediate family. Our Thanksgiving will be just myself, my wife Renee and as many of our children and grandchildren as want to attend. It will be between 11-14 people.

What won’t change is why we get together. I have previously revealed that I love Al-Anon gratitude meetings and Thanksgiving is like that. It’s a time to be grateful for what we have rather that envious of what we don’t have. A time to appreciate the people in our lives and how they enrich our journey.

Thanksgiving is one of only two times each year that our entire family comes together. Our annual pilgrimage to Estes Park is the other. It’s uncertain if this year will be a one-time blip or the beginning of a new tradition. I have mixed feelings about that. The long-standing tradition is cherished, but starting a new one is exciting, too.

If this is our new normal, the larger family will still have Estes Park.

And that’s something to be grateful for.

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. Having raised kids, Christmas, Easter, Fourth of July and Halloween have all been big deals, too, but Thanksgiving is my favorite.

It’s my favorite because of gang, grub and, most importantly, gratitude.

My mother had four boys and one girl. She knew that each of us would marry and have a second family with whom we would have to share time. Wanting the family to come together at least once a year, she told us she wanted Thanksgiving. Our other family could have their choice of all the other holidays as long as we could come together on the fourth Thursday of November.

And that’s what we’ve done every year. I didn’t attend during three of my four years in the U.S. Air Force but have spent every other Thanksgiving since 1961 with my family.

We watch football. The kids play football in the backyard. We share stories. It’s a very Norman Rockwell setting.

We have lost out on the homemade pies since mom’s passing in 2001. The pies we’ve had since are good but not like mom used to make. Otherwise, the menu is the same as it’s always been. My brother Dan, who has been the host for the past two decades, makes the turkeys, stuffing and a pot of green chili.

Everyone else has a specialty that they bring each year. I’m the mashed potato king. It’s a big crowd, often more than 40 people, and with a name like Fitzgerald, you know that potatoes are popular. I’ll mash a 20-pound bag of spuds.

I’ll be mashing a much smaller bag this year. Dan will be gone and each of us has chosen to have a more intimate holiday with our immediate family. Our Thanksgiving will be just myself, my wife Renee and as many of our children and grandchildren as want to attend. It will be between 11-14 people.

What won’t change is why we get together. I have previously revealed that I love Al-Anon gratitude meetings and Thanksgiving is like that. It’s a time to be grateful for what we have rather that envious of what we don’t have. A time to appreciate the people in our lives and how they enrich our journey.

Thanksgiving is one of only two times each year that our entire family comes together. Our annual pilgrimage to Estes Park is the other. It’s uncertain if this year will be a one-time blip or the beginning of a new tradition. I have mixed feelings about that. The long-standing tradition is cherished, but starting a new one is exciting, too.

If this is our new normal, the larger family will still have Estes Park.

And that’s something to be grateful for.