When the food was finally all prepared, it was organized on the counter, rather than the table. This is because my mom, the one in charge of events, said, “I’m tired of hauling all that stuff into the dining room. It’s a silly tradition.” Because she was standing in the role of the matriarch in charge of the kitchen, the power of that cultural kinship construction overwhelmed a smaller tradition that had passed through the generations.

“Thanksgiving and Kinship.” Interview by Angela Neiwert. November 28, 2017