Thanksgiving

by Diane Burton

I was at the checkout at the grocery store on Wednesday. I only needed a few things--vegetables for a veggie tray. At the end, I’d put a bottle of nail polish. The lady behind me said “Do you really think you’ll have time to do your nails?” I just smiled and said my daughter was cooking this year. The clerk bemoaned the fact that her mother wouldn’t let her cook and she really wanted to make Thanksgiving dinner.

I remember the first time I cooked Thanksgiving dinner. I was a young teen and my mom had the flu. My mother who was never sick stayed in bed all day. Since I was the oldest, she talked me through what to do to prepare the turkey and fix the rest of dinner. At the end of the allotted time, when the turkey should have been golden brown, it was still pasty white. I had to wake up Mom and ask what to do. Let it cook longer, she said. That turkey “cooked” for several more hours and still wasn’t done. The little kids were starving, Dad kept asking what I did wrong, and I had no idea. We found out later something was wrong with the oven. I think we had dinner around eight o’clock that night. Poor Mom. She just wanted to be left alone.

I like making Thanksgiving dinner. There's a set menu. I don't have to plan. But because of all the moves we’ve made over the years and the distance between us and our children, I gave up any possessiveness over Thanksgiving dinners long ago. Some years it’s been at our house, others at my daughter’s, and still others at my sister’s. Several times Hubs' aunt insisted on "cooking" dinner by taking us out to a restaurant. No matter where we have Thanksgiving, I’m just glad we’re able to celebrate with family. 

On the way home Thursday night, Hubs mentioned what a relaxing day it had been. I agreed. No hurry or rushing around. We only had a twenty-minute drive instead of two hours. We watched the Detroit parade in the morning then the Lions game in the afternoon. We visited with our niece and her new husband who joined us at our daughter’s, played with the grandkiddies, and had a delicious dinner.

We are truly blessed to have families to share with. We have homes undamaged by storms. We have our health. We’ve weathered bad times and come out stronger. It’s a shame we don’t take time to think about our blessings every day instead of just on Thanksgiving.

I hope you and your families have also been blessed.