Celebrating Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving from all of us at the Team ELM family! 

​Thanksgiving is a time for celebrating another year of growth. Some years are better than others but all years have something to celebrate. It's important that we take time out of every new year to celebrate the joys of the year before and to honor the loses that we've endured as well. This year at Team ELM we celebrate another year of service to our families. We have shared so many wonderful memories with so many incredible families. Thank you for all of the joy you bring into our lives.
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Read below for three of our featured employee's memories and traditions:

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A lot of our family traditions disappeared when my parents got divorced. Before that my grandparents aunt and cousin who lived in town would always come over for a big meal or sometimes we would go there. My grandmother would always bake a lemon merang pie which was my dad's favorite, and I vaguely remember making the apple pie with my mom. The weekend before thanksgiving I always had a father-son camping trip with the boy scouts in Thompson Park. There was always a very intense game of man-hunt, a huge fire, hot cider, and a deep fried turkey. We also had a tradition of trying to perfect the art of deep-fried Twinkies, before it became a popular carnival treat, through a long, and sometimes nauseating, process of trial and error. We perfected it the last year I went on the trip, nothing ever tasted so good. 
-Steven Minkoff

​Last year was the first Thanksgiving in a while my friend Ian was home. He's a Marine and is currently stationed in New Orleans. Before that, he was stationed overseas in Japan for 2 years. Ashley is the other girl in the photo. Ashley, Ian, and I are best friends. We were so excited for him to come home. It was special because we hadn't spent quality time like that for a long time. We're lucky if we see him twice a year. He won't be home for Thanksgiving this year which is sad, but he'll be home at the end of December for Christmas. We've all been friends for 8 years. We went out with Ian's sister and her friends to Asbury. It was lovely and I look forward to making more memories!
-Stephanie Streit

I have two memories. One old and one new, both equally wonderful.
The first tradition, is my mother. Thanksgiving is her favorite holiday. She cooks weeks in advance in preparation and freezes them until the day. She decorates the house with fake leaves, fake turkeys, old thanksgiving pictures, notes, and articles that have put a smile on her face. She calls family, old friends, and new ones too inviting them to our table for another year's celebrations. This year I make a Key Lime pie, a new addition to our table. Something to welcome two new people to our table, my boyfriend and his grandfather. This is their favorite desert. Sometimes we have 20+ people, this year it's 16. A wonderful day to love and smile with my mom on her day.
The second memory, a new job's celebration. We follow a yearly tradition set before me of making thanksgiving dinner for the residents living in my group home. Every person signs up for an item to contribute (food, drink, or utensil) and brings it that day. We set up a table buffet style in the hallway with decorations on the table where the food aromas filled up the whole building. All the residents gather around in the community room in preparation to celebrate together. We go around the room each one sharing what they are thankful for that year. Some share feeling healthy and happy, others share getting new jobs and having wonderful family and friends, and some appreciate the staff that make a difference in their life. We take a moment of silence for the ones we have lost this year, even those who moved on to a more independent part of their lives. We then enjoy the meal that everyone worked so hard to contribute to. 
This is a wonderful moment in which I am able to bring these individuals a little bit more into my heart. Reminding me of the many parts of my heart that are now filed with so many wonderful people.
​I think of the little ones from my Team ELM families, part of the biggest section in my heart. You all mean so much to me and I wish you all the best this Thanksgiving. 
​-Ilana Berger

​What are your favorite traditions and memories? Post them below with a picture or two and win 25% off your next date night!

xOxO, 
Team ELM