The Merritt family does what ev- eryone else does on anksgiving, eat, nap, and watch football, but there’s one anksgiving tradition that they do that most likely no oth- er family does.
“Papa goes around back to grab the tractor and the trailer while mom goes to hide the gifts,” Lillian Merritt (Lily), freshman secondary educa- tion major, said.
Once her mom, Angela Merritt, has hidden all the gifts, everyone gets on the trailer and they ride it through a pasture where her mom hid the gifts.
Whoever sees a gift rst is the only one allowed o the trailer to get the gift, but if it’s not theirs, they can’t
take it, and they can’t give it to who it belongs to.
That person gets back on the trail- er and they will come back around for the gift.
Angela started this tradition when Lily turned 5 years old.
Lily said it’s a lot of fun and gives them something a little extra to look forward to other than just eating and napping.
One year, Lily’s brother PJ saw a gift and went to get it but by the time he got to it, Pheleaux, one of the dogs, had gotten to it rst and ran down the hill with it.
By the time PJ got it back ,it was all eaten up, and Angela had to buy PJ another Pokémon action figure.
They usually don’t talk because the tractor is so loud, so they just sing at the top of their lungs.
“Mimi (grandmother) always makes a point to tell us how thankful she is to have us around. Most years Papa (grandfather) tells us to make sure we keep our feet inside,” Lily said.
Every year, this tradition makes Lily think of her dad becausee he was still around when they started doing it.
She said she enjoys it because it allows her to spend extra time with family members that she probably only gets to see once or twice a year.
“It’s highly nostalgic and I live for nostalgia,” Lily said.
Lily said Thanksgiving is always a fun time. She loves helping out in the kitchen.
She thinks it’s funny when her grandfather and uncle get into arguments over the football game.
She really enjoys talking to her aunt about music and books.
“She’s like a 30-year-old version of me. I enjoy the fellowship,” Lily said.
Lily hopes the family will continue this tradition for the kids and the young ones to come.
Lily said she will continue the tradtion herself with her future family if she lives in an area that allows it.
If all else fails, she has always liked the idea of taking a random surprise roadtrip on anksgiving weekend.
