Those of us who dwell in the Finger Lakes Region of Upstate New York have so much to be thankful for this year. Our beautiful Fall weather lasted through the first couple of weeks in November while some of our friends and family members in Florida were dodging some very serious hurricanes.
Our first snow falls in Canandaigua, NY happened on the 17th of November. We received just enough snow to cover the grass and along with the snow came low temperatures in the upper twenties. It was a wakeup call for me as I still have some garden clean-up to do and my Easter bulbs need to be planted before the ground freezes.
This abrupt change of seasons along with the anticipation of Thanksgiving and the Holidays has awakened me to the reality of all the blessings that we have received this year. It is so easy to be become distracted by all of the mindless talking bodies that we see on television, the holiday goods being displayed in the stores, or the endless e-mails that come on our smart phones advertising black Friday sales.
Our biggest blessings this year for my wife and myself have come from our extended families. In May of this year, my daughter came for a brief visit. It’s been a long time since I have seen her. We celebrated her visit at the Depot Restaurant on Saturday night. Having her here along with my son Michael and two grandchildren Gabi and Mikey, took me back to the time when my children were living with me. I now feel that I finally have my family back!
In September, my wife’s son-in-law Jeff came to pick up Jeanette and take her to Pennsylvania so she could hold her first great grandchild. It was an unbelievable joy for Jeanette to be able to hold her first great grandchild Natalie Veronica as she has long wondered if she would live long enough to celebrate this event. The following week her daughter Susan brought Jeanette back to Canandaigua where they spent hours talking about the new baby.
I invited my brother Sylvan who lives in Modesto California to come for a visit in October. It had been 4 years since he last came here – before Covid changed everyone’s life. He enjoyed sampling some Finger Lakes wines and driving through the countryside looking at all of the colorful trees which line the Finger Lakes. We also stopped to sample some locally fermented apple cider right here in Canandaigua as my brother has developed a taste for cider. We spent a lovely afternoon sipping cider and eating tacos just down the road from where we live. Sylvan and I talked about our growing up on the Bupp family farm near Smithville Ohio. When we weren’t touring around in the Finger Lakes, I showed Sylvan my copy of the Family Genealogy of C. J. Yoder and Catherine Bacher Yoder who started married life in the Smithville, Ohio area around 1850 – at the place where our great Uncle Emmitt Yoder lived. Jeanette enjoyed Sylvan’s visit as now she had someone to watch Hallmark Christmas movies with her.
It is our wish that you enjoy your family during this holiday season. There is nothing more precious to us humans than our family.
James Bupp