Our Table

Posted November 26, 2014

Every Thanksgiving is a new adventure for the Dougherty-Plemons family. Having moved as a family four times in the eight years we’ve been married, we are accustomed to building and gathering a chosen family to celebrate the holiday with us. We take in the visiting academics, the recently relocated, the new parents still in shock. We all gather, all us far from our natal families, and we give thanks.

Every year it feels harder and harder to pull it all together as the demands on our time grow. But I refuse to give in to the pressure. There will be turkey. Always. And it will be brined and basted to perfection. There will be stuffing, and potatoes, and homemade pumpkin pie made from actual pumpkins. Why? Because it matters. And because I so rarely have the opportunity to share my love in such tangible way.
This Thanksgiving, we will celebrate around our crazy schedules with an elaborate brunch – enter the Thanksgiving Day Frittata.

This year, we are continuing in our tradition of turning daily chaos into something special and holding a Thanksgiving Day brunch so we can work around travel schedules, napping toddlers and other pressures of the season. At 10:30 am I will be carving a turkey and feeding my family of friends. I may even make a quiche for good measure, because what is brunch, even on Thanksgiving, without eggs?

As we approach the holidays, Sara and I are getting sentimental. After we are done giving thanks with family and friends, we will be holding our first-ever ILLUME company retreat. We will be gathering our team of twelve (six times what we started with last year) to talk about what it means to be a part of ILLUME. Instead of being grateful for taking a chance on ILLUME, this year I am thankful to have ten more incredibly bright, motivated people with whom to create and shape our vision.

When you set out to do something, like build a company, it’s a lot like gathering people for a meal. You begin with a desire to create something meaningful; each person who joins you at the table bringing something of their own to contribute. Witty banter, an amazing recipe mastered over the years, or a new perspective on an old tradition. With each addition, what started as meal turns quickly into a happening, one where we all benefit from the products of the company we’ve chosen.

I am sure Sara will agree that we never imagined this success, that in a few days we will be gathering our additional ten chosen ILLUME family members together to continue to create our vision and to carry forward what we started. We are so grateful for our team and for all of you who have joined us at this table. All of our very best to you and yours.

Ink