By Sarah Goldberg
Growing up with divorced parents, the Thanksgiving holiday
was always a little complicated. When you’re Jewish, almost every holiday you
celebrate has two (or more) nights – one for each parent. But Thanksgiving is just
a single day and night. One particularly memorable year in college, my sister
and I celebrated three Thanksgivings: holiday lunch with mom’s side, turkey
dinner with dad’s family, and then pumpkin pie with a cousin who was hosting
her in-laws.
As hectic as it was, three Thanksgiving celebrations meant
more chances to reflect on what I felt thankful for, and more of what I
consider the best meal of the year (I can’t get enough sweet potato casserole
with marshmallows on top). More importantly, I spent the holiday enjoying time
with pretty much my entire family – parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles and
cousins on both sides. It was a perfect day to piece together my family health
history.
Like many Jewish families, when my relatives and I get
together, we share stories and eat traditional meals cooked from recipes that
have been passed down for generations. But we don’t talk nearly enough about another
piece of our family history: health conditions that may be inherited, too. I
might know that my uncle has one health affliction and my grandma passed away
from another, but different family members have other knowledge and together we
hold more pieces to the puzzle. Putting it all together can help us protect our
health and the health of our loved ones.
The Thanksgiving holiday brings families together – whether you
have three celebrations, like me, or it’s a simpler affair – to pause and
reflect. This year, take the time to reflect on your family health history as
well. Discuss your own information, ask questions of other family members,
compare notes, and, ultimately, share this knowledge with your healthcare
provider and encourage your relatives to do the same. Hopefully, these
conversations will help to keep us thankful for our health for years to come.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Not sure how to get
started? Learn more about family health history and find tools and worksheets
to help you collect key information on our family health
history page.
