11.27.2014

A Letter of Thanksgiving to My Family on Thanksgiving Day - 2014

Happy Thanksgiving to you ALL!

On this marvelous day, I am remembering fond memories of Thanksgivings Past; but mostly thinking of each of you and what I have to be THANKFUL for!

Many times in our growing-upe years in Pocatello, we would be seated at a long table in our front year, and there would be a knock on the door.  Standing in the cold would be a tramp – who had come from the railroad not too far from where we lived.  They left a sort of signal that pointed to mom’s house, and she always gave them a plate of food.  And, who wouldn’t want my mom’s delicious home-made turkey, gravy and stuffing?

A favorite recollection is when I was a freshman at Ricks College.  I went on an art trip to Chicago….we left Rexburg Wednesday at noon in a blinding snowstorm, and arrived in Chicago the next afternoon -  Thanksgiving.  When I called to wish my parents a happy turkey day, they wanted me to hurry and get home because everyone was waiting for me to come home so they could get dinner going.  They thought my phone call from Chicago was a joke and that I was merely at my roommate’s home playing a prank.  Fun memory.

The first time I ever cooked a turkey on my own was in 1969.  Allen and I were living in a small trailer home in Rexburg; I was 7 months pregnant with Jeremy, and I was on crutches because I had sprained my ankle very badly.  Of course, there was no Google and who could afford to make a long-distance phone call to my mother to find out HOW to make a turkey, so we muddled through it using the Betty Cocker cook book.  I don’t remember much about how things turned out, but obviously no one got poisoned and Jeremy – in utero – seemed to survive it along with Justin and Jenni; out -utero.

The first time we didn’t have ANY family at all was a winter right after Allen retired and we were spending a few months in Sun City, Arizona.  We ate at a restaurant.  The guy in the booth next to us told the waiter there was a bread tie in his meal, so she gave the meal to him free.  I never believed it, personally.  But, eating out was an experience I’d never had before on Thanksgiving.  WHAT????  No left-over turkey sandwiches?

In China, we didn’t celebrate Thanksgiving, except in our hearts, as we were teaching that day.  Just another day in China.

But, mostly, I have such fond memories of OUR turkey days together; take last year as an example.  We went shooting out on the desert, met Lisa for the first time, and learned Bobby and Kristi were getting married in September!  And, who will ever forget, Jenni and Brent jumping out of the closet when Janna asked Kristi to get her something from the pantry?

Memories; the stuff of happiness.

And, so on this day of giving thanks, I give thanks for each one of you.  For your goodness, your thoughtfulness, your fun, your BEING.

Oh, yes, I am thankful indeed.




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