Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Being Thankful.

It’s hard to believe Thanksgiving is just around the corner already. Gosh, I’m just getting over Halloween—how did the big T-Day approach so quickly? I guess I’ve been busy.
And speaking of the holidays, it’s that special time to gather around the table to give thanks for our many blessing. The thought of it sends a warm shot through my body. When I was younger, all I was interested in was stuffing my face with good food. The aromas of turkey and stuffing permeating through the house made my stomach growl and my mouth salivate. Unfortunately, the ‘giving thanks’ part fell by the wayside when I thought of stuffing my face. Thankfully, now that I’m an adult, I’ve learned to give thanks and appreciate the bounties I have that make my life so full of blessings.

But this year, more than any other, I realize just how dear family is to me, and especially my writing family. Sure, without all of you, I’d still have the same wealth of other riches, but not the same light in my heart. My writing friends have helped pull me through more than they know. They’ve lifted my spirits when I’ve wondered if I was really meant to do this, and convinced me to keep slugging along, and believe me, I’m thrilled they did. I’ve had an amazing year and it can only get better.

All of you are very special and unique people too. Your families can tell you that until they’re blue in the face but I know from experience, we don’t always believe it because that’s what they’re supposed to do. But it’s my writing friends who helped me to believe in myself—one of the greatest gifts of all. So this year, before I begin to stuff my face, I will give thanks for my many blessings, and my friends. My fellow writing friends feed my soul and nurture my emotional well being, and for that, I will be eternally grateful.

As the time grows near, I’m always curious about what traditional foods others grew up with. In my house, besides the turkey and sausage stuffing and cranberry sauce, Mom made breaded and fried cauliflower and celery, a lettuce salad, sweet potatoes with the marshmallows, mashed potatoes with parsnips, dinner rolls and dessert. The pies were always pumpkin, lemon meringue, chocolate cream pie, and later in life, she added coconut cream pie. Of course, that meant we’d have leftovers every which way from Sunday until they were gone and by then, we were so sick of turkey, no one cared if we ever ate another piece of it. I pretty much follow the same tradition, but I eliminate dinner rolls and make cornbread instead. In addition to homemade cranberry sauce, I also make a cranberry jello mold that is to die for. So what kind of traditions will you be following this year during the holiday season?

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!











3 comments:

Elisabeth Rose said...

What a great excuse to get the family together and eat too much. We, naturally, don't have Thanksgiving or an equivalent here in Aus but we do the same thing at Christmas. Big family get together and too much food. My niece insists I make meringues every year to go with the fresh fruit and whipped cream --summer fuit of course for us at Christmas, pineapple, mangoes, pawpaw etc Plus something sinful and chocolate based.

Beate Boeker said...

You are so right - having writer friends who encourage us and help us along in times of trouble are so important. I'm very grateful, even though we don't celebrate Thanksgiving in Germany. ;-) But I'll make my first batch of Christmas cookies this weekend. All the food you describe sounds so foreign to me. I know Turkey with stuffing, but that's about it! In Germany, we often eat goose for Christmas - and in my family, fondue (not with cheese, but with broth).

Have a wonderful time with your family!

Unknown said...

Thank you Lis and Beate. We did have a wonderful time with much laughter.

Beate, I love fondue. Once the side dishes are done, it becomes such an intimate dinner without any pressure because everyone is cooking their own food and they're relaxed and ready for fun. And everyone takes part in the conversations. It's like one big happy family.

Happy Holidays!