Time is at an accelerated and ever rapidly increasing pace for me these days. I looked up and realized that Thanksgiving was upon me and many things needed to be done to make the holiday a festive and food filled extravaganza for family and friends to enjoy. After the death of my mother and sister, holidays have been bitter sweet as I struggle to regain and establish traditions without them and to carry on a few passed down from my mother. Having said that, I was thinking of how much my mother loved Thanksgiving sandwiches with mayonnaise, sweet pickles and crispy potato chips. I made her dressing again this year and my sons say it tastes just like their grandmother’s dressing – my mother’s. Another memory came to mind about my sister who hosted Thanksgiving one year and made dressing from a box. My brothers promptly rejected the box stuff and we still laugh about it today.
The night before this Thanksgiving, my guys stood in the kitchen laughing, eating and making tiny pecan pies for the next day’s feast. We thought about running to the store to buy a newspaper for the sales that would commence promptly after our over indulgence in the food we would consume the next day. On second thought we decided to just stay home and forego the sales this year. We lamented over how our day to be thankful is sandwiched between an over celebrated Halloween and an over spent Christmas with both beginning earlier and earlier every year. Thanksgiving gets sandwiched between the two and the real meaning gets lost in the preparation of food and the sales. We all sat down and discussed what we are thankful for and I wanted to share a few with you.
What we are grateful for…
From the Aggie: A home cooked meal, being home, family and food from home (that’s a repeat)
From the Senior: Family, good teachers
From Himself: Being together, our home, a job
From Me: My family believing in God, each person having a relationship with Him
This Thanksgiving I am lingering over the sandwich that signifies the last of the turkey so that I can remember that the day was meant to be for thankfulness. I am holding on to gratitude, but not for things that will pass away. I am thankful for the things that will remain and the hope of eternity.