My Family Observation Essay On Thanksgiving

For the fourth section of my portfolio, I decided to observe a family holiday dinner. The dinner that I chose to observe was my family’s Thanksgiving dinner. Thanksgiving is a major holiday in my family because, it is one of the only times that my family is able to all be together. However, this Thanksgiving was different than any other, due to the passing of my Pop-Pop. Thanksgiving was one of his favorite holidays, and it was hard for everyone to enjoy the meal as much as we normally would have. This year’s Thanksgiving was held at my Aunt Mary Ann’s house around 3pm. When we all get together for a holiday, there is really no specific manners that everyone must follow. One important tradition however, is that we always say a prayer before

Even though he was not with us, he is always there in spirit. This relates the current course because of how values are displayed. Like I explained above, values vary across families, and it is important to understand the values that everyone holds. Being that my family is so close, our values are all very similar. However, it is quite easy to come across a family who have different values. Participating in this experience allows me to be able to see how important certain aspects of the holidays are to everyone. When working with clients, they may be fortunate to have all of their loved one’s with them, and their most important part of Thanksgiving is making sure that the turkey is cooked perfectly. For a client with a disability, it can be hard to make a holiday meal perfect, because they often feel held back my their disability. Experiencing this Thanksgiving meal with my family showed that while something may be effecting the day, a holiday can be as perfect as it can be, with the love and support of others. So, as an occupational therapist, I will make sure to help enforce the knowledge of values, and that to use inner strength to keep