Thankful For Good Health

This year more than others, I think I am carrying around a lot of nostalgia. The days of the big Thanksgiving dinners are all over. The table is little, the diners are few. There is still a turkey and mashed potatoes, and an apple pie. There is much thankfulness that Fran’s elderly mother is still with us. There are no children that have sticky fingers that need washed. There are no finger prints that my dad continually washed from the television set while we were there. There are no admonishments to little ones to sit still and be quiet.
My parents never came to our house on the holidays. I can’t remember even one time. My family always went to my mom and dad’s. We only lived about eighty miles away and even then I can remember risking our lives traveling there because of the weather.
Some times the kids’ dad’s family came to our house for Thanksgiving because we had such a big house and had room for everyone.
Those days are gone, but they leave fond memories. These changes occur with everyone. Traditions are something that most families have. Traditions can be special foods. The special foods at my daughter’s house was a Mexican dip she made that was to die for. My sister made a wonderful punch of raspberry sherbet and of course, 7-up and I am sure other good stuff. I can’t remember any more, but it sure was good. My mother’s food she always brought was her wonderful clover leaf rolls and she made her sweet cranberry salad. I think just looking at that salad made Thanksgiving. I still make that salad and nobody eats it, it just is something they don’t care for. This will probably be the last Thanksgiving I will make it.
I am remembering traditions but you know what, I can remember my roommate and I had a fudge bar and split a can of beer for our lunch for Thanksgiving. We were very thankful to have each other and to have the money to buy the fudge bar.
This post was begun three days ago. Day before yesterday, Fran got a surprise phone call from his son saying that he and his family were going to drive all night to be at our house hopefully in thirteen hours. It had been about twenty years since they had celebrated Thanksgiving together. The weather was good, and the kids were pretty good. They were all exhausted when they got here, but they did get a chance to visit some before they laid down for a nap. Fran had such a cool idea. He set up my propane heater and heated the porch so that gave us thirty extra feet to house the visitors.
Today we got phone calls from Fran’s family and of course, Fran’s mother and brother were here.
Yes, Melanie, it is God’s day.