Thanksgiving Memories

I remember being a kid and waking up to Christmas music on Thanksgiving morning. Food being prepared in the kitchen, the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade on TV. The chill in the air and for a kid – the sheer delight in knowing Santa was not far behind!

My dad worked on Thanksgiving. 40 years ago, still a young dad, he worked the holiday for that coverted double-time holiday pay and I remember counting the minutes till my dad came walking through the door around 2 in the afternoon.

My job was always to break the fresh bread into pieces for the homemade stuffing (something my daughter does now) while my mom melted the butter, sauteed the onions and celery and added all those seasonings that would become my favorite part of dinner – STUFFING.

The turkey would make it in the oven and the company would start to arrive. Though most of those people that I see in my holiday memories are gone, I can remember them vividly. My aunts perfume and the bags of goodies and groceries she would unload from my uncles car. My uncle handing out money. My grandparents eager to wrap us in hugs and warm kisses. The corny jokes, the football, the food and most of all the love that seeped into every corner and crevice of my heart.

Thanksgiving is more than just a huge meal where we sit down and stuff more food than anyone should feel comfortable consuming into our stomachs – it’s about just what that word implies – Giving Thanks.

I’m thankful for my past. I’m hopeful for my future. The saying that you can’t see where you’re going if you don’t know where you’ve been – has great meaning to me.

No my life hasn’t been perfect – really can anyone say their life has been or is? We’ve all made mistakes, done and said things we regret and we’ve had those moments that will forever shine brightly in our memories. This is the day to shine. To celebrate all the good, all the bad and all the ways we’ve all grown – day after day, year after year – becoming better people.

Take it slow. Inhale the scents, take the time to laugh and toast to love, happiness and hope. Because wherever you are, whoever you’re with – no one knows what time holds. Life is about the small moments, the memories you make now to take with you into the future. One day I hope to have a granddaughter breaking bread for stuffing, my kids will be grown, hosting family dinners of their own. What will their memories be? Will they remember the music, the smells of roasting turkey or our family’s tradition of watching “Christmas Vacation” when the last of the food has found a place in the refrigerator?

So my wish for all my family, friends, and the best critters on the planet, is for hope and enough of everything they could want! For memories to fill a lifetime. For love to overflow.

Okay, okay, I wish us all the big publishing contracts we can handle! (I can dream, right?)

Tags: Thanksgiving