I still can’t believe next week is Thanksgiving. It just
seems like yesterday it was hot out…oh wait, I live in Texas, so yesterday it was
hot!
But seriously, this is one of my favorite times of the year.
In my opinion, Thanksgiving is one of our unsung holidays because it doesn’t
always get its due. I mean look what comes next.
Thanksgiving is the time where we give thanks to God for all
the gifts he has blessed us with before we celebrate receiving of the greatest
gift of all. The birth of our Lord Jesus.
So, as I sat down to write this, I thought about all the
Thanksgivings that have passed in my life. At 57, there’s been quite a few that
come to mind.
As a child, I remember all the family coming together over a
wonderful meal cooked by my mother. Turkey and cornbread dressing, pies, and
one of my favorites, my mother’s fruit salad. Of all the things that made the Thanksgiving
meal so good, it was her fruit salad that I loved the most. It’s stuck with me
through the years.
By then, the weather had usually turned colder, though we
lived in a different part of Texas. I remember one year it even snowed. All
special memories for a child.
One of our other traditions was to watch the Macy’s
Thanksgiving Day parade. The floats and the balloons were great, but when Santa
made an appearance we knew Christmas was on its way.
Most of my family have now gone on to be with God, so nowadays,
Thanksgiving is bittersweet for me.
As a grandmother, we have our own holiday traditions, but I do
my best to make all those wonderful dishes my mother made so well and that I
loved as a child, (even the fruit salad). And on occasion we watch the parade
still.
So what about you? What are your family’s Thanksgiving traditions?
Do you have some that you learned from your childhood and that you carry on to
your children?
All the best…
Mary Alford
