Thanksgiving is always a special time in our house. Whether we have a table set for 25, or it’s just the two of us, we spend a wonderful day appreciating all the blessings that we have. Family, friends, pets, food, shelter, and abounding nature.
Some Thanksgivings have given us special memories. There was the year my roaster pan finally quit working. Interestingly, the red light indicating it was “on” did not stop working, but the pan didn’t heat up. With the giblets simmering softly on the stove, there was an aroma of turkey in the air, albeit a rather faint one. We readied all the other dishes to eat at 4 p.m.
Everything was either in pots and pans or in the oven and the table was set. Matt prepared the carving set and pulled off the roaster pan lid. We stared in horror at the completely uncooked, raw turkey. The butter hadn’t even melted!
Quickly, we put all the food away and placed the turkey in the oven. The assembled loved ones got out the Uno deck and we enjoyed more time together, laughing, playing and munching on olives and pickles. Three and a half hours later, we prepared our Thanksgiving feast again – and this time, the bird was cooked!
Last year, our son and his family had Covid. Matt and I ate the traditional dinner alone, then prepared several trays to deliver to porches. Our son said he actually could taste the cranberry and the gravy, but that was about it. Fortunately, they all recovered from Covid and that was plenty for which we were grateful.
This year, there were five adults and a toddler at our table. I managed to forget to buy onions, so my traditional stuffing had chopped up radishes instead. No one seemed to notice, but then gravy hides a multitude of sins. My husband makes a mean pumpkin pie and he was assigned that duty this year.
Not only did I forget onions, but I forgot evaporated milk. This is a pretty important ingredient for the pie, so I made a “quick” trip to the grocery on Wednesday night. It was a nightmare. Who (besides me?) waits until the night before to shop for Thanksgiving? Apparently, several hundred people.
So I fought the crowds and found that the shelves on which evaporated milk were housed were all completely empty. I scoured everywhere and finally looked up substitutes on my phone. Purchasing the half-and-half recommended, I made it to a check-out counter and returned home – again forgetting to buy any onions.
The pie turned out pretty well, though it was not quite the same as usual. In fact, everyone raved about everything and had seconds and even thirds.
Because really, it’s not about the food. It’s about the people we love and getting to spend time with them. We played with the baby, watched a few Andy Griffith’s on TV, and laughed and talked all day. After everyone went home, we took the dog for a walk and then watched a funny movie. It was a great day.
Truly, we are blessed. (But I’ll never forget onions again!)
Yes, indeed, we truly are blessed! We have so very much for which to be thankful. How often I have taken things for granted; especially in my younger years. How about taste buds? Like your son, this Thanksgiving my brother and his family had Covid. They didn’t have much of an appetite and what they did eat there was no taste. They are still slowly recovering.
How often I have just gobbled down my food in a hurry , not taking the time to be thankful for it — or even taste it! What if we had no taste buds at all? We would miss out on the many different flavors. I put a slice of mandarin in my mouth this morning and bit down. The delicious juice burst forth throughout my mouth and the flavor was delicious! What if we had no sense of smell? There are so many things to be thankful for, not just on Thanksgiving Day, but every day.
Yes, Susie, it is about family and spending time with people we love. And laughter! It’s good like a medicine! You have given me much laughter with Susie’s Snippets! I am thankful for you.
And you are blessed with a husband who can make a mean pumpkin pie! He’s a keeper. No, you don’t need to renew your marriage vows. It took the first time!!!
This year we had only part of the family here – but we had LOTS of food stuffs and ate them up – only took about 4 days to do it!! Missed seeing some, but plan a CHRISTmas trip to catch them and deliver some goodies we have discovered over the past few weeks – my wife had lots of stuff stashed in her area – which I never even dared go into – and with her departure to heaven, we are trying to see what we can give to family in remembrance of her and are using some as gift for the season and reason to visit!!! Hoping for safety and health for all! great post, as expected – otta be in Readers Digest for sure!!!