Remembering today Thanksgivings past with fondness:
- The elementary years when everyone brought a dish in to share, we dressed as pilgrims or Indians & all sat together as a grade & feasted over lunch hour. The most memorable was the rabbit stew my friend Nyssa brought in. She was so proud of having shot, cleaned, & cooking it all up herself. Not bad for a fifth grader! We were warned to watch out for shot as we ate though. Evidently she’d filled it pretty full & had a dickens of a time getting it all out at the cooking stage. :]
- The high school years when we’d gather as a whole school (7th – 12th) & have “popcorn praise”, Mr. Mecurio’s open mic time. We’d usually have a movie of some kind after dinner together in “the furnace”. Sheffey stands out among the rest.
- Family gatherings with Mom’s side of the family; everyone lived close by. Cousins in every corner of the house. Grandma cooking up a storm. The men resting around the TV football game. The women gabbing after dinner around the table.
- Teaching 2nd grade in Korea & sharing Thanksgiving lunch with the 3rd graders. My gang appropriately dressed as the Indians while Miss Scercy’s group were the pilgrims. That was by far the most interesting Thanksgiving meal I’ve ever eaten – rice, sardines, makeshift dressing, pie, etc.
- The 5th graders in VA. We were in charge of making the pies one year for the elementary feast. Each team of kids brought in the fixings for 4 pies & we baked all day between our lessons (our classroom was right next to the kitchen so we could keep an eye on them). They did great & we had so much fun with that!
- Our first Thanksgiving together, Keith & me, up in our little love nest apartment. Paul & Luke were both at Liberty so my family gathered at our place. Debbie brought her kickin’ cranberry sauce (two super good kinds) & Luke got the turkey going over in the boys’ apartment. Our oven was too small & old.
- The Korea years, we celebrated Thanksgiving twice; once with our Canadian friends in October, then again in November with our fellow Americans.
- The year at the trailer when Keith’s folks & my folks all gathered around our newly purchased oak table. It had just been delivered, so that was kind of the christening meal for it. : ] Soooo many more happy family meals have since been shared around that table, with many more hopefully yet to come!
- The years with Mom & Dad next door we gathered so many times, Thanksgiving days don’t really stand out. Nice problem to have. : ] Those were happy days we thought would continue on throughout our children’s growing up years.
- The year Dad died & Keith’s dad was so sick. We thought we should head to MN in case Neil wasn’t with us at Christmas. Mom was truly alone for the first time. Sad days. Really sad days.
- The PA years, going to Paul’s for Thanksgiving, the first of which we told the kids Jack was on the way. : ] We did PA two years in a row. The first time, Luke’s family went with us & we took in Hershey Park on our way out. The second year, Mom traveled with us & we stopped at Gettysburg on the way back, complete with hotel stays.
- This year, we hope to relax & enjoy Thanksgiving with our neighbors next door, my aunt & uncle & cousins. It makes me reflective of all the years past, our huge & wonderful extended family on both sides, what our own children will remember in years to come about these holidays growing up. I will try to write some of these thoughts out over break. I’m going to try to get back on a blogging streak here, though not as often as before. There are still so many stories I want our children to know & remember! So many things I am thankful for & want to pass on to them, never forget. Rather than pour over them, I may just “spill my guts” like this entry more often. At least it gets the ball rolling even if it’s not so polished.
Happy Thanksgiving! May you take the time to reflect gratefully on all God’s given in your past, rejoice in His bountiful provision for your present, & trust Him for all He has in store for your future.
