Turkey day

I have fond memories of waking up early on Thanksgiving day and seeing my mom working on the turkey or some other part of the thanksgiving meal. I would help her if I could, but mostly I just sat back and watched her work in the kitchen. She had a rhythm to working in the kitchen and especially on this day. After the sun would come up, I sat in front of the TV, turn that big old knob on top of the TV (if you are my age you know we didn't have remotes or cable way back then) until it got to the Thanksgiving Day Parade. My sisters and I would watch with awe at all the floats go by and the bands play. After stuffing ourselves to the breaking point, we'd clean up, and that was where the children were included into Thanksgiving. My sisters and I were the designated dishwashers, we'd wash, dry and put away all the dishes, and then we'd all sit down to watch a bowl game of some sort.

This year, we'll have just our family and my husbands mom and dad. At first I was sad that we'd not have a huge crowd of people (I'd invited a couple from church as well but they had family come in town at the last minute). But now, today, as I reflect about my memories of Thanksgiving, I'm grateful that I am having a quiet family dinner and hope that Thanksgiving brings fond memories to my children as it did me.