Ah yes. Thanks giving. A joyful time, a time for cheer and remembrance of all to be thankful for. The sky. The air. Clothing on your back. Your family. Your food. Beauty is in everything on this glorious day and the Garcia family for one have many things to be thankful for. 

“Mom!” Ah my youngest! 

“Yes Rosie?”

“I will not be partaking in this colonizer holiday and I ask that neither does the rest of the family.”

“Excuse me, what?”

“Mom! This holiday is a heinous glorification of the murder of thousands! You cannot find something that has already been found!”

“Honey it’s thanksgiving. It’s a time to celebrate all you’re thankful for.”

“I’m thankful everyday mom. I don’t need a murder holiday to remind me to be thankful! I’m thankful of air so I breathe it, constantly might I add”  Roseanne huffs, breathing rapidly to prove her very necessary point. 

“Please stop doing that you’re scaring me.”

“Mom. I think we should give the turkey and pernil to the homeless. And just watch movies tomorrow.”

“Rosie the Turkey has been in seasoned, thawed and in the fridge since Saturday waiting to be cooked and the pernil has been in the oven since this morning as a slow, marinating temperature since this morning right on time for thanksgiving dinner tomorrow. Not to mention your abuela is bring over the ham tomorrow too. You’re telling me you’re giving up on the ham? The sweet ham that’s your favorite? And the mango rice that Lisa is bringing tomorrow.”

“Lisa’s bringing mango rice?” The 17 year old squeaks. 

“Yes. Rosie, c’mere. Sit. Let’s talk.” Said girl does as told, folding her many pamphlets under her arm. “Where is this coming from? You’ve happily enjoyed every thanksgiving for the last 17 years. What’s going on now?”

“Well mom, for 17 years I didn’t realize what thanksgiving was. Christopher Columbus systematically slaughtered thousands and dressed it up as rehabilitation of the inhabitants there. He and pillaged and now I’m supposed to celebrate him? I don’t celebrate Ted Bundy’s birthday mom.”

“Whose Ted Bundy?”

“Are you kidding me? Only the most prolific serial killer in U.S history. Did you seriously not learn about him?”

“When was I supposed to learn about a serial killer? I was in class learning about wars and math, not bad people. And what in the world is your school teaching you? Why are you learning about serial killers?”

“I’m not. I’m into a super cool podcast. I’m learning all about him. So back to thanksgiving. We shouldn’t celebrate. Let’s be good people.”

“Rosie thanksgiving is about more than all that. It’s about being thankful. It has nothing to do with Christopher Columbus.”

“Mom. Why do I need a holiday to be thankful? Shouldn’t I always be thankful? And so what if time has passed and Christopher Columbus is only loosely linked to the holiday. Jesus was never born on Christmas and yet people still tie him to it. It doesn’t matter how long ago something was. Bad is bad. And what happened was bad. We shouldn’t celebrate it just because time has passed.” Heaving a deep sigh, Joy pats Rosie’s head and smiles sadly. 

“I get what you’re saying. I really really do baby. But its tradition. And thanksgiving is tomorrow princesa, it’s too late for me to do anything. Next year, we’ll figure something out.” With that, Joy stood and walked away leaving rosie behind to look at her pamphlets. 

“She didn’t even look at them.”

————————————————————————

Joy whistles, arms swinging in glee. Jennie is asleep which means no kicking Lisa out the window. Wendy is showering which means this is the perfect time to sit down and watch the bachelorette. Where is the remote? 

Lifting up a pillow Joy groans, “where is the remote. I always put it right here. Where the hell is the remote. Footsteps approach, Joy looks up to find her youngest whistling and using the remote the wrong way. “Rosie give me that.”

“Give you what?” The blonde asks, continuing to scratch her cheek with the remote. 

“You know what.”

“Oh you mean this?” She dangles the remote. “I discovered it. It’s really good at taking care of my itch.”

“You did not discover it. That is the tv remote.” 

“No. It’s a face scratcher.”

“Roseanne Seungwan Garcia. If you do not give me the remote right now I swear to god I will break my foot off in your .” Gulping, Rosie steps back. 

“Um. Well. I disc-“

“Think hard baby girl. Finish that sentence but think before you do.”

“I discovered it!” Roseanne yells before executing a flawless juke around her mother before narrowly missing a sandal at her rear end and sprinting up the steps. 

“Roseanne get back here!”

“Mommy!” The 17 year old yells, flying by her older sisters room and rudely awaking her before barreling through the bathroom door and nearly jumping into the bathtub with her mother. 

“What in the world is going on here!”

“Mommy! I discovered the remote and mama said she’s gonna break her foot off in my ! Again!” Wendy stares shell shocked holding a loofah out to stop her daughter from getting in the bath. “Mommy she’s coming save me.” 

Failing to hold the girl off, Rosie climbs into the bath and shimmies behind her shorter mother and thanking god she made it in time. Joy barrels in shortly after, hair a mess and cheeks aflame. “Joy let’s breath baby.”

“Amor, give the girl up. She and I need to have a discussion.”

“Joy you’re holding a broom stick. What are you planning to discuss that requires a broom stick?”

“It’s to break off in my ”, Rosie whimpers. 

“Language baby. And you”, Wendy says, pointing at Joy. “I told you, we don’t hit the kids. What is going on?”

“Rosie doesn’t want to do thanksgiving anymore. I told her it’s too late for that, tomorrow is thanksgiving. So she decided to discover the tv remote. And won’t give it back.” Wendy smiles slightly, ignores the cold over her body and turns to Rosie. 

“Why don’t you want to do thanksgiving baby?”

“Because mom. It’s a murder Holliday.”

“It’s thanksgiving tomorrow though hon. It’s hard to cancel something that’s 15 hours away. How about. We rename it.”

“But it’s still thanksgiving.”

“No. We can call it Rosie day. And it won’t be about the past. Or even being thankful. We’ll do something else.”

“Like what?”

“Why doesn’t everyone cook something from a different culture every year?” Everyone jumps at the voice. “What? Why is everyone being so jumpy?”Jennie wraps both arms around Joy’s waist and rests her head on her taller mom’s back. “Why is Rosie in the bath with mom? Mom aren’t you cold?”

“Freezing baby. Your mother and sister are fighting about thanksgiving.”

“Yeah I noticed.”

“So it’s settled then! Instead of thanksgiving we’ll call it culture day! And celebrate all the cool things the world has to offer.” Wendy smiles, clapping her hands together. “Now Rosie. My beautiful baby girl. Please for the love of Christ get out of the bath my are like bullets. Joy do not touch my baby girl with that broom stick, Jennie darling why do your pants keep getting smaller? Please. Put some pants on. Now! Everyone out!”

—————————————————————

“Jisoo! Put the belt down, now.” 

“But mom! Chaeyoung keeps touching my !”

“Am not! I walked by you! You tripped me so I hit your . You are both the causation and the consequence! 

“The both of you are adults. Enough, now sit down and let’s eat with the rest of the family. Jesus it’s like talking to a wall with you two.” Irene grumbles, pulling the two woman along. 

“Hey titi”, Jennie greets before pressing a kiss to Irene’s cheek. “What happened to you?” She asks Jisoo. 

“Nothing. Where’s Lisa?” 

“She’s gonna be a bit longer because she’s cooking fondue with her dad.”

“I thought she was bringing mango rice?” 

“She is. But last night Rosie decided thanksgiving was a bad holiday and now we’re doing a culture day and every brought a special snack from their culture. Lisa’s dad isn’t Thai like her mom so they made fondue and mango rice.” 

“That’s a lot of change in a day.”

Jennie shrugs before linking arms with Jisoo and kicking Chaeyoung on the . “Ow! That hurt.”

“It did not. Stop being dramatic.”

“You could have just given me a hug you didn’t have to kick my . I’m trying to grow it out I’ve been doing squats.” Jennie looked down at her cousins . 

“Uh. Do a couple more.”

“Oh screw you!” Chaeyoung yells before running forward and lifting Jennie onto her shoulder and dangling her. “Hit her Jisoo.”

“Jisoo don’t you do it!”

“C’mon do it.” Chaeyoung eggs on. 

“What are you weirdos doing?” Dahyun asks from the doorway, a horrified expression on her face. Chaeyoung whips around, Jennie squeals as she spins and narrowly misses flying into Jisoo’s legs. 

“Hey Hyun!”

“Sup Chae? What are you doing to my cousin?”

“I’m hitting her .”

“Why?”

“To stimulate it after she called mine flat.”

“I didn’t call your flat!” Jennie yells, pinching Chaeyoung’ s thighs. 

“Hey! Stop that before I drop you on your head!” 

“You guys are so weird. Thank god I didn’t invite Gahyeon.” 

Across the room, leaning against a door post Joy stands. Arms crossed over her chest and smiling. “Hey mama”, Rosie greets resting her head on Joy’s shoulder. 

“Hey kiddo. What’s up.”

“Nothing. I just wanted to see how you were doing.”

“Well, your grand mother is annoyed but I think anytime she gets to spend with you guys is good enough for her. Besides she misses papi, so she wouldn’t pass this up just because you changed the name. Besides, now we have more food here besides turkey, stuffing and pumpkin pie.”

“Yeah. I mean. It’ll take some getting used to. But we’ll get to learn about cool stuff you know? Isn’t grandpa bringing stuff too? From Korea?” Joy nods, wraps an around Rosie and kisses her forehead. 

“You may not want to call it thanksgiving anymore, but I for one. Am thankful for you. Your sister and everyone else filling up this house today.”

“Really? Even when they act like that?” Rosie asks, pointing at Chaeyoung spinning Jennie around upside down, Jisoo recording it and Dahyun slapping Jennie’s with a broom stick. 

“Even when they act like that”, Joy laughs.