Well, Thanksgiving is over, and I am ready to move on to Christmas. It was a nice day. The weather was almost warm, and it would have been wonderful to have one of those big, noisy holidays we used to have back in the days when we took these things for granted.
I have a long, long list of big Thanksgivings behind me, and, yet, I have never roasted a turkey. We had so many large family groups, with lots of food, family, friends, and friends of friends, and lots of cooking. My late husband, Jim, was born into the restaurant business, and was an excellent baker. Everyone always assigned us to bring the pies and rolls. On Thanksgiving mornings, he would take some of the kids to Mass, and then to Moran's Cafeteria to bake. Easy peasy for me. But I don't think I've ever cooked a special food that people remembered or requested. Maybe I need to work a little harder on a signature dish. Maybe not.
When I was a child we had storybook Turkey Days at my aunt and uncle's farm. These continued through my own kids' childhoods, until we suddenly lost my Aunt Jane. Later, we traveled to Kansas City, and had great times at my daughter's. Her husband, Trent, was always our chef. He also cooked when I had everyone come to the Frat House for two Thanksgiving dinners. There are lots of memories of our Kansas City holidays. One that the whole family will remember is when the tablecloth caught fire just as Johnny Cash started singing Burning Ring of Fire on the radio. Everybody was sure it was a message from Jim, since it was our first holiday without him. We laughed and cried, and kept the tablecloth.
Last year was my first year with John. We had only been married a few weeks. We celebrated with part of his family. We have several children, and it is unusual to get everyone together at the same time. But that is my dream, to have all of us together. I certainly didn't dream that it would turn out to be such a complicated, difficult year!
Our Thanksgiving dinner today was just the two of us, with a pie delivery from one of his children. It was delicious, thank you. And there were several phone calls, texts, and Facebook messages. After dinner we took a drive to the nearby lake.
Thanksgiving has never been at the top of my holiday list. I always enjoy it and I certainly eat more than my share, but I have never gotten that excited about it. There is always so much nostalgia, and missing things and people that we don't have any more. I try to remember that things change and people change, and that favorite foods don't always taste the same when someone else makes them, and that even though we are practically confined to our houses for the present, we really "can't go home again." But we can remember to be thankful every day, for the past, the present, and for the future.
