Thanksgiving is a special time of year, and I’ve found that it’s only grown more special the older I get. After all, traditions that I’ve enjoyed since my childhood days now have decades of memories attached to them. It’s hard to describe to a 20 year old why fruit salad is so important to the Thanksgiving menu, which it is in my house, or why there’s a separate table for the kids and the adults. Why do I want to have “A Christmas Story” playing on television even though I’m not in the room? These things are mysteries to the youth, so I don’t try to explain. I just enjoy the power that my years have granted me and turn the volume up.
When I was younger, we’d all gather at my grandmother’s house for Thanksgiving. Despite the fact that she weighed 80 lb. soaking wet and was 5’ tall in heels, she was the powerhouse of our family. She would cook the entire meal, from the appetizers to the pies, and only the most trusted family members were allowed into the kitchen. By the time she hit 75, she realized that it would be a travesty for her recipes and Thanksgiving secrets to vanish from our family history, so she started inviting me to join her in the kitchen.
I don’t quite know why she chose me. I was 12 at the time, so I suppose I was old enough to learn the lessons, but not so old that I’d question the teacher. Whatever the reason, I spent the next 9 Thanksgivings with my grandma, learning her secrets and listening to her share her memories. When your hands are busy in the kitchen, it’s a great time for conversation. That is another reason I love Thanksgiving so much.
My grandma passed on when I was 21, and it turned out that the first few Thanksgivings without her were decent, but not nearly up to the standards she’d set. I worried that she’d be disappointed and had dreams that centered on spices and stuffing and forgetting to turn on the oven when the turkey went in. But as the years passed, the food started to improve, and Thanksgiving wasn’t about hurrying to finish this dish or that one, but about remembering those 9 years with Grandma. Thanksgiving is about food and football and family, but most of all, it’s about being thankful, and I started to remember that.
So as I prepare for Thursday’s feast, I have a crew of helpers who are welcomed, or dragged, into my kitchen, whatever the case may be. And we laugh, make a huge mess, and have a great time even before the food is on the table. There are some new dishes that grandma didn’t cook, but I think she’d approve of them, but a lot of the stories are the same.
As I near retirement, I’ve spent so much time planning about the future, and there’s nothing wrong with that. In today’s economy, planning for the future financially isn’t just the responsible thing to do, it’s the necessary thing to do. But it’s important to live in the now as well, and to recognize all of the good things you have going on already. So this Thursday, count your blessings, enjoy the food, and don’t argue with Grandma. Happy Thanksgiving.