Belated Thanksgiving Recollection

During Thanksgiving, I was a little busy because my husband was in the field. I have neglected my blog a bit. I hope everyone had a wonderful time with family and friends. I hope you left from your Thanksgiving dinner with full bellies and full hearts. I know that I thoroughly enjoyed my day at my Aunt Betty's. I love spending the Holidays with my Aunt and her family. She reminds me so much of my Grandma and my Mom in her ways. To look at her, I am reminded of my Grandpa's gentle blue eyes and warm smile. I have always treasured her friendship and advice. Now that my Mom is gone, I treasure it even more so (even though I don't socialize as much as I should since losing my Mom). Seeing all of my Aunt's family pile into her home evokes memories of my childhood where the whole Walker clan would gather in my Grandpa and Grandma's small two bedroom home for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Here is a short recollection of a typical Thanksgiving from that time:

Some of my most special childhood memories involve Thanksgiving at my Grandma Walker's house. In preparation for the feast, I would oftentimes help her with the grocery shopping. I would try to decipher her hen-scratched, handwritten list (where she used a lot of abbreviations as well) as we made our way down the aisles: t.p., b. soda, c. st, oleo, c. meal, b. pow, HB, etc.. Her arthritis made it difficult to write, so some lists were worse than others. I jokingly mentioned that I needed a secret decoder ring to read her writing. She laughed. She had a great sense of humor...a gift she passed along to her descendants. When the cart could hold no more, we'd make our way to the checkout. Once home, the daunting task of finding room for everything began. Nevertheless, it was all accomodated....even if some of the canned goods ended up on top of the dryer.

The baking usually started on the day before the feast. The most mouth-watering aromas would drift out of that tiny, galley kitchen enticing a grandchild or two into sneaking a sample unnoticed as soon as Grandma's back was turned. Beautiful pies and cobblers magically appeared on the table, one after another, next to a slightly opened window for cooling. On Thanksgiving Day, Cornbread Dressing, Casseroles, Mashed Potatoes and Giblet Gravy marked their spot on the buffet as they waited to accompany the showstopper...the golden-brown masterpiece with its juices perfectly sealed within and meat so tender it melted in your mouth!

Soon this tiny two-bedroom country home was bursting at the seams with daughters and sons, grandkids and great grandkids and longtime friends. With hands held and heads bowed, Grandpa would lead us in prayer and bless the food just as he did before EVERY meal. My Grandpa always sat at the head of the dining table surrounded by some of his children and their spouses. The rest of us tried to find a place in the living room, on chairs, on the floor, on the beds...where ever we could find a spot! And Grandma...still in her handmade apron, would have to be persuaded out of the kitchen to "sit down and eat, Momma" by one of her children. She was truly an amazing woman, Mother, Grandmother....and COOK. If you were to look in her kitchen after she had left her "post" and finally sat down to eat the meal she'd prepared, you would NOT have found a cookbook or recipe lying around!

My Grandparents had a huge influence in shaping the person that I am today, just as they did their daughters and sons, granddaughters and grandsons. I learned many things from them. Some things they taught me from their spoken word and other things by example. One of the greatest things they taught me was....LOVE! Unconditional love. It makes my heart happy to join my family in my Aunt's home and still feel that same love abound.

God bless you all during the Holiday Season. Thank you for joining me as I blog along!

As always, with love

from my home to yours....