Thanksgiving makes the mouth water

It’s almost Thanksgiving. I miss the days when we had to decide which family we went to first. Those were the years when neither side was willing to move the celebration to a different day. That came later.

 I have hosted the dinner once or twice.

The first time I did all the cooking we were renting a  house that featured all pink appliances.

There was a pink refrigerator, pink stove, and a pink washer and dryer. I was pregnant, and we also had a puppy. The puppy was not pink. It was black. In addition to leaving permanent teeth marks on the dining room table legs, she also loved to chew on the phone cables.

Everything was going great until I brought out the pie. Most of the crust was somewhere in the middle of the pie, the rest was on the top. It was the last pie I ever made for my extended family. 

There were many years where we visited both sets of parents on the same day as nobody wanted a repeat of that pie, even though it did taste good.

 My side of the family never had turkey.

They had ham studded with cloves or a big pot of beef and homemade noodles.

At first there were so many relatives that the tables stretched from the kitchen to the living room. The kids ate together and headed outside as soon as they were allowed. Slowly the number of people gathering at the house dwindled until there weren’t many of us left and Thanksgiving became no more than a couple of days off from work or school.

 The other side of the family mirrored ours.

The drive to the in-laws became longer and longer. The next generation took over the cooking and cleaning.

It was far too soon that the house was sold and the only reason to visit that area was to stop by the graveyard to pay our respects.

 The parents died, one by one. We kept up the traditional meal until they were all gone. After that, it was increasingly difficult to get everyone together, and we were left to give thanks by ourselves.

 I realize there are many places to go on Thanksgiving. Churches and charities offer food for all. Most of the volunteers get a good feeling from feeding people who might otherwise go hungry. The comradery is as important as the food.

 Although we know several places we could go for the holiday, we will stay home. I may bake a ham or turkey and fix a small dinner that isn’t that much different from any other day. 

 The things I like best about Thanksgiving are there are no eggs to hide, no candy to stash out of sight, no parties involving alcohol, no costumes, no presents. There is food, family and gratitude.

 And there is pie. Pie that I did not make. Pie covered with whipped cream. Pie with the crust on the bottom where it belongs. Here’s hoping that all your relatives get along for at least that day, and that your children never see a pie with the crust in the middle.