Among Friends

[shoptilyadropagain]

What I remember most is while growing up and even several years after I graduated college, my mom and my aunt would take turns hosting Thanksgiving.  Both of their houses were small ranch style and it was always crowded but we had a ton of food and lots of laughter and fun.  In the afternoon, my uncle would always start up a game of euchre.  We normally had two tables of four playing.  The families eventually got too big for one house so we eventually just did our own thing....Mom's family and my Aunt and her family.  My dad, aunt & uncle have since passed away but I'll always cherish those times.  

[jeanlake]

I love your stories - thank you. Brought tears to my eyes. I'm in the kitchen with chili on the stove, cornbread and orange cranberry, banana muffins in the oven. My kids / grandsons must have chili and cornbread during Thanksgiving week and I'm happy to provide. What a joy for you to have wonderful memories of family, friends, grandparents and the warmth they provided.    

[beckyb1012]

Thanksgiving 1985 my then 2 year and four month old son was watching me prepare the turkey breast his Dad and I were going to eat.  As I was rubbing it down with butter he kept saying over and over "wash the baby, wash the baby".  Then when I put the breast in the oven he started crying and screaming "don't cook the baby" over and over.  It took us forever to get him to calm down.  He did not recognize his "little brother" later when we had dinner.  He loves to hear that story every year.

[doxie1]

i have many.

     One of my favorites was when my mom told her  3 year -old- grandson she was waiting for all her turkeys to come home for a thanksgiving feast. She went back to preparing the meal. About  an hour later she heard her grandson yell as only a 3 year- old can that the family was here. Mom took her apron off and went to the door to greet everyone. She opened the door and her jaw dropped as she saw what was in the front yard. It was 30 to 40 wild turkeys. She would have slammed the door but to her dismay the grandson went to greet them. She ran out to retrieve the grandson as he was surrounded by turkeys. She swooped in to grab him as they surrounded her. She put him down and told him to run for the house. He ran in the house and watched from the window. Mom was fighting the turkeys in the front yard when the family drove up. they watched in shock for a minute trying to figure out what was going on. Mom got out of the turkeys and walked to greet them as if nothing was unusual. She was hugging them as they were pulling turkey feathers out of her hair. One of the in-laws looked at her and asked if we were "eating" one of these turkeys. They came in the house and the grandson said, " grandma... you are the best!"

For years after that we had others offer to bring the turkey.

doxie

[RedTop]

For me, Thanksgiving just meant learning about the Indians and Pilgrims first feast again, days off from school, hog killing time, and deer hunting.   I did not grow up with it being a family holiday.

All of my family lived local and we saw them weekly.  We ate Sunday dinner at my maternal grandparents weekly, but never did holiday dinners.   My dad was the baby, and by the time he had a family, all of his siblings were having their own holiday celebrations.   Any family dinners, or holiday dinners on the farm, were before my time.   

After I married was when my parents tried to have a family meal.   My daughters and brothers always hunted on Thanksgiving Day, so the dinner got moved to Sunday after the holiday, and it was still hit and miss for the 2 of us who worked in healthcare.  

As my girls got older, they wanted dinner here, so I cook the foods we like, but it's still just Thursday to us.  Not a big deal.   

[Shanus]

OMG @Zaimee , all your Grandma's food choices should be on my table tomorrow!! That's what I grew up on. Kasha varnishkas are my favorite...stuffed cabbage a close second. My mouth's watering...

Happy Thanksgiving.

[AnikaBrodie]

There are so many great memories; however, the most memorable for DH and me are the free Thanksgiving meals for our community that we coordinated at our church.  We offered dine-in in the Family Life Center (FLC), meal deliveries and pick-up with turkey and ham and all the trimmings.  DH and I coordinated this project for over twelve years requesting donations of food along with kitchen assistance and delivery drivers from church members and friends. 

On Thanksgiving day we would arrive at the church before 8:00 AM to set up the FLC for dine-ins, meet and discuss delivery options with volunteers, and prepare the food for dine-in, take out and delivery.  It was truly a group effort with everyone providing assistance wherever it was needed. 

But the most blessed part was greeting community members who dined at the church or picked up meals.  Meal deliveries to shut-ins were sometimes emotional as so many people told us they wouldn't have had a Thanksgiving dinner without us.  We were tired by the end of the day but also grateful that so many benefited by our volunteer work.  Once again we were reminded that "It is more blessed to give than to receive."

[homedecor1]

I have so many fond memories that its almost "sad" to think about!  

I spent 3 hours today on skype with my sister & brother.  Boy, we had lots of laughs (and tears) thinking about all those wonderful times when our parents were alive and our families were all together - (both passed to young in life).

We are so lucky to have those memories.  

Now, I am blessed to still enjoy holidays and special times with my family even though I'm miles away...and as everyone "staying home" but 

 thanks for  technology we can still enjoy our families, grandchildren and more ...

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!!