“This Thanksgiving my thoughts and prayers go out to everyone who has to do the dishes.” Anonymous
I am determined to hang on to Thanksgiving a little bit longer than normal.
I am not quite ready for Christmas although it seems to be coming at me from all directions, and I never really was able to think about how thankful I am for so many things.
My whole life every Thanksgiving was a big deal for our family.
Crystal, silver, china and fine linens were pulled out and polished. The food was over the top and the older we got the more competitive my siblings and I became over who had made the best dish.
We served lots of wild turkey, quail and venison, along with homemade cranberry sauce, sweet potatoes done a zillion different ways and so on.
I was happy when my parents were alive, rolling around on the carpet in their big den with our little children in front of a cozy fire with lots of football going on.
My sisters and I would spend several hours in the kitchen hand washing every piece of china and crystal, and you could hear my mother chirp in every so often from the other room “don’t put my good silver in the dishwasher.”
We would all mumble something and roll our eyes at each other. It really was not work at all, it was fun being with my sisters talking and being our silly selves.
This year was spent with an entire household of people I did not know, you know, “the other family.”
They of course are just like my family, lots of siblings with lots of children and grandchildren, except that I was the newbie.
Every family has a different kind of Thanksgiving it seems. My friend in Dallas serves lasagna every year which is so odd to me.
Anyway, I made duck gumbo with rice for an appetizer and Bread Pudding with Tennessee Honey Whiskey Sauce for dessert.
At first I had only one taker on the duck gumbo. The others watched him eat a whole cup, bite by bite, until he said “Man that was really, really good! I would like some more, please.”
They all looked at each other and I was reminded of an old Life cereal commercial with Mikey eating his first bite.
“He likes it! Mikey likes it!”
The other children yelled. One by one they all were ready to try the gumbo and I thought to myself, “Hmmm, this group is not quite as adventuresome as mine and are definitely not into the gamey types of food.”
When I asked what I could do to help the sweet new sister-in-law gave me a can opener and asked me to slice the cranberry sauce.
Not my usual cup of tea at Thanksgiving, my mother alway made the most wonderful cranberry sauce that was cooked on the stove with whole cranberries, sugar and orange zest.
We never saw the jelled type that slid out of a can in one whole cylinder.
The rest of the meal was just fine and although different from my own Thanksgivings from the past, I was very thankful for a new family to celebrate with. I was most thankful that she had chosen to use a blue Spode china pattern that was lovely and best of all it was a paper plate!
Who knew!
The rest of the day and the rest of the weekend was consumed with bad football and disappointing coach firings and hirings.
I never thought I could watch that much football in three days and take it so personally.
I am thankful football is over for awhile and am very thankful that baseball is right around the corner.
Holidays with in-laws and out-laws is difficult for everyone I would imagine.
New husbands and wives, children trying to make a decision on where to go without hurting one parent or the other and everyone just trying to make everybody happy.
I am thankful I made the decision early on to just be happy where you are, even if that means being by yourself, which I myself have had to endure a couple of times.
In quiet moments I am thankful for so many things and am reminded how truly blessed I am with a husband I love, a taste for really great food, a church that means a great deal to me, three boys that have my heart, and a dog who is my best friend.
I am thankful for the memories I have of my own parents and all that we shared, and of all the good things ahead of me in the coming years including having Thanksgiving at my own house where I get to be in charge of the holiday menu.
It shall be fabulous!
Homemade Cranberry Sauce
1 bag fresh cranberries
1/2 cup sugar
Zest of 1 orange
Place the cranberries, sugar and orange zest in saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Cook until the berries burst open and the mixture begins to thicken.
