Happy Thanksgiving

or A Trip Down Memory Lane

For the last couple of weeks, the topic of what someone is doing for Thanksgiving has replaced the weather as the general conversation starter for friends and strangers alike. "What are you doing for Thanksgiving?" "Are you traveling for Thanksgiving?" "Are you cooking a turkey for Thanksgiving?" and so on.

The answers have been varied ranging from huge traditional dinners to a turkey breast alone with the parades on TV. All of this talk has me thinking about the different ways I have celebrated Thanksgiving in the past. Bear with me as I take a trip down memory lane.

When I was a kid, Thanksgiving always coincided with deer hunting season which was the week of Thanksgiving and the week after. My father would spend the week at a friend's house and they would hunt together, meaning he wasn't home for Thanksgiving. That also meant that we didn't have a big dinner until he came home on Sunday or sometimes not at all. And that was okay. In fact, it was relaxing and fun. We would have things like spaghetti and pizza, that were not favorites of my father's, and watch the parades and old movies on TV.  It was a chore free day, the best kind in my opinion when I was a kid (and maybe now).

The background of not always having a traditional Thanksgiving carried with me when I had my own kids. When they were little, we lived in Texas at least 1000 miles away from the closest relative. We often traveled at Christmas, so we stayed in Texas for Thanksgiving. We did a variety of things from spending the day with friends to having a traditional dinner at home dressed as Pilgrims and Indians. One year we went to a historic park and learned about local history, and for another we rented a hotel room downtown and watched a parade complete with big balloons. And sometimes we spent the day relaxing around the house eating pizza.  It was all good.

When we moved away from the Gulf Coast to the the east and became closer to relatives, we had more traditional Thanksgiving observances with extended family. The houses changed, but there was always a turkey dinner. While we enjoyed our times in Houston, having family around for these special times was wonderful.

Many of our recent years were spent sharing Thanksgiving with my parents. We took food to cook at their house-sometimes a big turkey dinner, sometimes not. During these visits, my sons helped their grandmother prepare her Christmas cards after the task became too cumbersome for her to do by herself. As time went on, they did more and more of the job, but they spent time with her and I know that was appreciated by all.

Which brings me to this year. Today, I will eating my third turkey of this season. An abundance of turkey wealth, you might say. Two weeks ago, Ward's family had a traditional Thanksgiving meal and gathering because some of his family are now traveling. Last week, Theo cooked a turkey because we found it in the freezer and decided it needed to be roasted before it got any older. We didn't have that one with all of the fixings, but he did make a traditional pot of turkey soup last night from the carcass. Today we will be spending the day with Aunt Martha, Uncle Billy and his side of the family with a big traditional dinner. We're bringing the pies.

So for Thanksgivings, past and present, and the families they bring together, I am thankful.

Happy Thanksgiving to one and all!