Our memorable Thanksgivings are centered around family and the traditions which we have adopted. Ours include turkey, dressing, and fruit salad as part of the menu,a gathering of family at our house or theirs, the Dallas game, and leftovers. A few feasts stand out from the others: eating outdoors in Phoenix and having a hard time relating to the Pilgrims who survived the harsh New England winter; gatherings in Las Vegas, NM, at my husband's Bob childhood home where groups of 20 were typical; and a feast where we enjoyed a 4 year old nephew's expressive rendition of a turkey's progression from the barnyard to the kitchen table and on to his tummy that was way too full (the best part of the song). Now he's nearing 30 and playing in a band.
Of course, there was the trip to the home of my husband's Aunt in Los Alamos where our son eyed a cheese ball served on a platter surrounded by assorted crackers. Meant to be an apetizer it had been placed on a coffee table. Our 19 month-old son picked the cheese ball up and started eating it like an apple. As a first time visitor to their home and a "new mother", I was at a loss as to what to do and very grateful when Uncle Otis, having raised three boys himself, just chuckled and placed it back, nibbled side down.Then there's the Thanksgiving that our nephew who had driven from Tennessee to New Mexico with his wife and 18 month old daughter asked after eyeing the spread, "Aunt Michelle, where are the rolls you always make? I've been thinking about them all the way across Texas!" Oops! You've got to watch the childhood traditions that you start. Maybe I'll serve up some more helpings of Thanksgivings..... after the Cowboys game and before leftovers. Mimi D
