Thanksgiving: A Family Portrait

By Kyle Becker

Remember the year Grandpa Joe burned the turkey, or the year Aunt Susie’s jello mold didn’t set quite right, the year a certain someone forgot to make the mashed potatoes, or the year Uncle Dave fell asleep before the Cowboys game even started. We all have stories of Thanksgivings past, some through memories tucked away in our heads and others captured in time through pictures kept in albums or hung on walls to which we can fondly look back.

Kyle Becker

Growing up, there was never a thought about where we would spend Thanksgiving, it was easy, at my Grandma Grace’s house in Melbourne with my aunts, uncles, and cousins. We could count on a bounty of turkey, casseroles, and confectionery. If we weren’t the epitome of Americana, you could simply go to my grandmother’s bookshelf and pick up one of her Norman Rockwell books to see we were pretty darn close.

But my Thanksgiving experiences are not everyone’s, we have families among us that lack the means to have the Thanksgiving meals which have come to represent the Thanksgiving holiday. Thankfully, there are those in Apopka who work miracles and provide this opportunity to those families, and Loaves & Fishes are some of those special people. This week, through their hard work, they are providing turkeys and trimmings to the many wonderful families they serve so they may have the perfect Thanksgiving meal.

With Loaves & Fishes covering the food part, my focus shifted to the family part. In a day where we Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, or otherwise electronically share our memories, often times we forget to actually print our pictures, or have the time and money to afford professional portraits. With my fondest memories of Thanksgiving being the family moments, I worked with Loaves & Fishes to provide a memory for their families. On Saturday, November 26^th they will be able to have their beautiful families photographed by a professional photographer, with a matted and framed print provided afterwards at no cost to them.

My hope for these families is to look at these portraits, as I do on mine, and realize as years come and go, they will always be able to look back and cherish what is most important, which is not the food you eat on Thanksgiving, but rather who you share it with.

Happy Thanksgiving, Apopka.

Kyle Becker is an Apopka City Commissioner sworn-in on April 26th of 2016. He and his wife Kelly moved to Apopka 10 years ago. They have three daughters Madelyn (8), Emily (5), and Lucy (3).