Turkey wishes and Turkey Dreams

Bug Boy brought home a simple assignment the other day. The students had a teeny little Thanksgiving book and they were to ask a relative or friend (well, interview) what their favorite Thanksgiving food or memory is. Naturally he wanted to ask Darling, who has no recollection of yesterday, let alone a few years ago.

I offered to help Bug Boy (and gave Darling the hairy eyeball for not making something up) and told him my favorite food (GASP!!! NO WAAAAYYY!!!) was mashed potatoes. I told him I also like the stuffing that gets all crispy and kinda burnt when the turkey first comes out of the oven (yes, we stuff the turkey. We have not gotten salmonella in thirty-odd years.). And the creamed corn that my mom is famous for. And her apple pie. And gravy. Did I mention the gravy?

Moving right along...

So, Bug Boy moves onto the part where we share out favorite Thanksgiving memory. I thought about it for a moment and then told him all of them.

All of them, because I can remember being with my huge, loud, obnoxious family every year. Even though the past few years we have been alternating between in-laws and our family, I can remember having dinner at our house, my sister's house, my brother's house, my parent's house (where we are much too small to fit anymore, and my mother's cooking is totally slipping anyway). I remember sneaking into the kitchen to open the oven and peek at the bird and steal some of that crispy stuffing. I remember the year that my mother was hospitalized for Thanksgiving and my two older sisters were in college and no longer lived at home, so fourteen-year-old me made (and messed up) my first Thanksgiving dinner, complete with purple mashed potatoes. I remember squeezing around the not-quite-an-eat-in kitchen and telling everyone else, one at a time, what we were thankful for. I remember the creamed corn getting so burnt we could taste smoke. I remember my then-five-year-old sister, who sang twenty-four hours a day, making up a Thanksgiving Carol because she was annoyed that there weren't any:

Deck the Halls with Turkeys falling
Fa la la la la, la la la la
If you don't you won't get stuffing
Fa la la la la, la la la la

I kid you not. This is what she sang and I remember it like yesterday!

I think the point I am trying to make is that I want this feeling for my children. I want them to look back on all of the Thanksgivings and the funny things that happen and smile and sigh. I want them to cherish having those moments with our crazy family. I enjoy spending time with my family (yes, Crissie, ALL OF THEM) even when they drive me nuts, or I don't agree with them, or they tease my kids one-too-many-times or they look at me like I have three heads, which I do. I love being together with them because despite the fact that my parents are sometimes off in never-never land chasing pirates, they loved us very much and did their best to provide for us with the little they had. They always tried to make it fun. My mother was very creative and crafty and we had homemade EVERYTHING. Some people might have thought it was shabby, we always knew it was filled with love. To this day, when my sons have a birthday or we have a family holiday, I insist on making EVERYTHING fresh and from scratch, because I just feel that making it homemade means making it with love.

Except the cranberry sauce, I've burnt that too many times to try it again.

Forget who you are angry with this year. Forget that Aunt-so-and-so thinks your kid looks like a cabbage patch doll or that your brother said your potatoes (GASP!) tasted like sawdust one year. Forget that your parents are always late, and are always the first to leave. Forget that it is loud and when you leave your ears ring like you've been at a rock concert. Please, just concentrate on being together, reminiscing, loving. Enjoy your family and make memories. Concentrate on the fact that you have such a blessing! This life goes so fast! No one EVER says on their death bed that they wish they swept their floors one last time or changed the oil in the car more often. They always wish they had spent more time with their families building memories.

So, fall asleep after dinner from all the tryptophan (which they now say is a lie, you just ate too much) and have sweet dreams of Thanksgiving. And apple pie. And pumpkin pie. A la mode. And cheese cake, mmmm! Cheese cake! And creamed onions and...