Reflections on Thanksgivings Past

Thanksgiving was the time when Charles and I were most giving of our hospitality and love. There was always someone to invite to share the holiday meal with us. It was a most joyous and exhausting time. Both of us had demanding jobs that left little time to clean the house, shop for groceries, and prepare the food. As a result of our anxiety about pulling everything together, we’d always get crosswise with one another about some little thing or another during these hectic times.

We always prepared Thanksgiving dinner staples, along with any new, experimental dishes. The staples included ham, turkey, broccoli cheese casserole, green beans, potato salad, corn bread dressing, and sweet potato and pecan pies. At some point, the ham disappeared altogether, the store-bought rolls were replaced by my attempt to duplicate Larry’s squash rolls, and the canned cranberry sauce gave way to cranberry apple relish (which eventually ceded the spot back to the canned cranberry sauce).

Our happiest times were when we had to add the card table and chairs to the end of our long dining room table in order to accommodate our Thanksgiving family of friends. No matter how late the dinner ended and friends departed or stayed overnight, Charles and I would clear all the dishes and put everything back in order. We loved this time together to laugh about how silly we were when we got cross with one another, and discuss how well we thought the celebration was received.

I will be forever grateful for the opportunities we had to express our love for others and for one another. It was during these times that we knew that we were truly blessed and made for one another.