Health & Illness & Feasting

Thanksgiving this year was the same as always, at my grandaunts house, with the same relatives, most who I don't see unless it's thanksgiving. The reason it was I’m not fond of thanksgiving is because I’m never thrilled to see relatives I haven't seen in a while, because I hate acting like I missed people I barely know that I call family, but when eating, laughing and talking to relatives, you enjoy being around your relatives until you go home. In a way family bonds on holidays such as thanksgiving is good, because it reconnects you to your family which affects your connection with them For example when the earthquake in Haiti killed 4 of my relatives, I wasn't too distraught, because I barely knew them. I'm not sure how I can connect "anti-body" and "body-centered" to thanksgiving, because those more connect to socializing with other people.

Food was a great aspect to my thanksgiving, because everyone brought a dish that they made, the benefit about doing that is that people would talk about what someone made, such as giving compliments, feed backs, etc. What I noticed is that every dish made, reflected on the family member, when I saw the veggie lasagna I knew my great grandaunt made that, because she's a vegetarian. Which brings back the food unit, and how it plays a role on social practices.

The whole night was all talking, everyone who was 13 and up had conversations, the only people who watched TV were the young ones, who watched cartoon network upstairs, but the only time they're allowed to do whatever is after dinner. Which is a bit funny when I look back on how much nothing changed, it's almost a tradition, children are bored when adults are talking, and once they can leave they go straight upstairs and play hide and go seek, watch TV, and make a lot of noise, like I used to do.

First Thoughts on the Illness & Dying Unit

When i hear Illness i think of sickness from disease, or old age. Adding "old age" may seem morbid, but everyone as they get older are getting ill, it's not like someone who's 80 can run better than they did when they were 20. Dying is when someone has absolutely no home of staying alive much longer, it's basically saying that someone is dead while they're alive. Many times most would say illness and dying are the same, because when you're ill you're dying. The problem with that mind set is that being ill can be having something simple as the cold, which can cause someone to die, but we use ill to negatively. From personal experience i so far haven't had a relative who's died or is ill, besides my great grand aunt who has arthritis and has been saying she's going to die for the past 10 years. Sometimes when one is ill they tend to care more about life, but they can choose to live their lives a few different ways, they either or cherish every moment they're around, or they dwell on how great their lives was than and feel completely miserable with the situation they're in.