Yes, it is true that November can seem like the grayest and most dismal month of the year. We get up in the dark and come home in the dark, and for many of us it is just too early to start our holiday decorating.
This year I have noticed that more and more houses already have their trees up and the outside decorated. I'm not sure if that's because the holiday is so late or that people just need a little more cheer than usual! Even the style this year has gone back to old fashioned and traditional. I keep seeing and hearing Ralph Lauren and Little Women or Little House on the Prairie decorating. Buntings, paper chains, and orange and apple slices are now the popular way again to accent your house!
Even though that's been my way to decorate for years, this is still too early for me. I did manage to make Halloween disappear, but I still have some fabric pumpkins, and a couple of Thanksgiving banners hanging up. And they will stay until that holiday is over. I don't really decorate a lot for Turkey Day. I love Halloween and I adore Christmas, but for me Thanksgiving is just stuck there in the middle.
I've had lots of big family traditional dinners but have never really cooked one. When I was growing up, and then when my children were young, we always went to "The Farm." It was the kind of Thanksgiving dinner that everyone should have. My favorite aunt and uncle hosted and everyone ate a lot. My dad had six brothers and sisters, so there was always a crowd, with lots of cousins. The table was set with the good china, and the younger ones had a table of their own. Most of the family weren't active church goers so there was always an awkward moment while somebody cobbled together a thankful prayer of grace. Afterwards, the men napped or went pheasant hunting while the women gossiped in the kitchen and the kids explored the rambling old house. Then the eating began all over again. It wasn't exactly a Norman Rockwell scene, but just about as close as my family got.
Of course, we've had lots of other Thanksgiving dinners since then. All were special in their own ways. And some of them came with tears along with the turkey. We'll never forget the one where the tablecloth caught fire. Or the one where I invited all the family and some friends to the fraternity house and my son-in-law cooked dinner in the fancy new kitchen. Now we divide our time with two families and different traditions. Our California Thanksgiving was beautiful, but we are glad not to be traveling during the holidays this year.
Isn't it curious that this dark, damp and dreary time of the year is the time we are most reminded to be thankful? Perhaps it is good to remember this is just a little respite, a time between the October harvest, and the lights and sparkle of the December holidays.
Don't forget to count your Blessings!
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