thanksgiving

as we head into the week of Thanksgiving, i'm very blessed to think back on all of the wonderful Thanksgivings my family had while i was growing up.  Every year, family and friends would descend upon Grandmother's house for an afternoon of food and fellowship.  i enjoyed helping Grandmother prepare the house for guests.  Once i was tall enough, i was allowed to set the tables, which i always enjoyed!  And the smells of Thanksgiving that permeated throughout the house were wonderful.  i don't know exactly how she made her dressing, but it was a favorite of mine and Mom's and ironically neither of us ever asked her to teach us to make it.  Oh well.  And on her back porch, the pumpkin pies would sit out there to cool and it smelled glorious!

My Mom never spent a Thanksgiving or Christmas away from her childhood home...never, so there was not ever a question of going some place else....people came to Grandmother's.  That's just how it was.  And we had so many wonderful people share this day with us.  Early on, Jim and Lucy Reich, he was our minister of music, were always present for turkey day.  And Gene Herrill and his family were frequent guests as well.  One Thanksgiving, i fell asleep after lunch and Mr. Herrill tied my shoe laces together while i napped.  He has always been a jokester.  Other people would sit at our table from year to year....The Spiegels, Doris Martino, Scott Walker and his family.

Then one year, we began a new tradition.  Mom decided that it would be nice to invite the Fornes family to Thanksgiving and that turned out to be a wonderful thing.  i think there are some of the Fornes clan Grandmother hadn't seen since Mom and Dad got married in 68.  Grandma Fornes, Uncle Tuck and Aunt Betty Jean, Uncle Bob and Aunt Faye, Uncle Raymond and Aunt Geraldine, Aunt Susan and Uncle Tom...and various cousins...Ray, Tim, Todd, Steve, Stephanie, Melanie, Amber.  They all came.  Such a nice time was always had by us.  Some of the relatives stayed a few days, some went back home or to other places after dinner.  But it was fun to see them, especially knowing i would see them and so many more at Christmas at Grandma Fornes's house.  They came back year after year, almost up til Mom's passing.  It was always something to look forward too.

i miss those family gatherings.  They are not nearly as frequent as they use to be.  Or, at least my being able to attend them isn't as frequent as it use to be.  But family comes in all shapes and forms....blood relative or not.  And it's nice to have one's family seated around the table, or card table where i always sat lol  i need more of that.  i want more of that.  Time to make it happen.