Some traditions come with requirements. Dr. Tai, the middle child of three daughters, grew up with a Thanksgiving ritual that her mother took very seriously: gratitude as your “ticket to dinner.”

“Since we were old enough to say grace, my parents created a tradition where we would all pause before Thanksgiving dinner to share what we were thankful for,” she explains. “When we got older, my mom took it up a notch and started handing out index cards so we could write our gratitude down. She called it our ‘ticket to dinner,’ and she meant it.”

Throughout Thanksgiving week, her mother would ask repeatedly, “Do you have your ticket to dinner?” Anyone who joined them had to participate too, so they’d warn their friends to come prepared. “We tested the boundaries a few times, but she was so forreal! No ticket, no dinner lol!”

Over time, it became something they all looked forward to. “During the hardest years, it forced all of us to hone in on all that is right and good when we had spent so much time consumed by grief or pain…we really needed that.”

Her mother kept all the cards, and now whenever Dr. Tai is home, she loves going through them, seeing what grounded her over the years. “Now that my sisters and I are all grown with our own families, this tradition still centers me and makes me feel connected to home.”