THANKSGIVING PAST

The turkey has been roasted eaten and deboned. Plastic bowls of stuffing, vegetables, white and sweet potatoes fill the refrigerator. The Chocolate Cheese Cake, pecan and pumpkin pie have all been sampled. Some have settled down for an afternoon nap while the football games continue; the Thanksgiving Day festivities are winding down as I reminisce of past Thanksgivings.

As a child we sometimes spent Thanksgiving Day at one of our Grandparents. There were always aunts, uncles, cousins to play with and mountains of food. The most memorable Thanksgivings were the ones spent at home with Dad, Mom, my brother and four sisters. Mom would get up early in the morning to make her special cornbread dressing, stuff the turkey and get it cooking in the roaster. The family would wake to the aroma of roasting turkey and baking pies. Breakfast usually consisted of a healthy slice of homemade pie with a glass of ice cold milk. Mom continued cooking all the dishes that made Thanksgiving special. Along with the turkey and dressing there were fluffy mashed potatoes that were really mashed with an old fashioned potato masher instead of whipped with a mixer. The sweet potatoes came from a garden instead of a syrupy can. Mom would slice the potatoes and sauté them until tender then serve them topped with butter and brown sugar. Dishes of green beans, corns and cranberry sauce rounded out the meal. The only concession to traditional and homemade was the dinner rolls. On Thanksgiving we had brown and serve rolls. It was my job to butter the tops before popping them in the oven then butter them for each of my sisters at the table. To this day my sisters will still ask me to butter their rolls, they assure me no one does it better!

As a child, Thanksgiving was about fun and feasting. Before eating, we always had to name one thing for which we were thankful. We would all name the usual things like, Dad, Mom, brother, sisters and of course, Mike was always thankful for the Turkey or something only he would think was hilarious. Fortunately, I have matured over the last 51 years. I still enjoy the food; the cooking and the eating, but now I have my priorities in much better order. I have learned to be truly thankful, not just on Thanksgiving, but for the benefits we are “loaded” with daily.

It is easy to thank God for the big, once-in-a-lifetime blessings, but what about waking up in the morning, the smell of freshly brewed coffee or a hot shower? A hug from a grandchild and sticky fingerprints on the glass door are blessings to be treasured any day of the year. On this Thanksgiving Day, 2008 enjoy feasting with your family, watching football, or playing games but set aside a few minutes to be thankful. Ignore the colorful advertisements of tomorrow’s super sales and take a walk. Thank God for the fresh air, healthy lungs to breathe in and out, and strong legs to carry you around the block. Take the time to read the storybook to your grandchild for the tenth time and thank God for that grandchild’s unconditional love and the little life you have been entrusted to help mold and point in the right direction. Take the time to really listen to what your loved ones are saying and rejoice in their successes and incredible wisdom. Finally, as you sit down to rest after the food has been eaten and the dishes washed, thank God that everyone had more than they needed and the cornbread dressing was once again, a success.

Happy Thanksgiving!!!