Thanksgiving 2010

Uncle R and I enjoyed a wonderful Thanksgiving meal yesterday with his two lovely sisters and their families. In years past when Mama & Papa were still with us, both sisters, their spouses, their children and… soon grandchildren, would gather for a huge family meal at Mom & Pop’s home in Huntsville, Alabama. The center of holiday activity was Mama’s bustling kitchen with opening oven doors, simmering pots on the stove & china handed out of cabinets and spilling past football games on the den TV and balls being tossed out in the front yard.

Everyone tended to bring a signature dish or addition to the meal, but Mama would always outdo herself by cooking for days before Thanksgiving, preparing mountains of savory mashed potatoes and gravy, her signature huge bowl of dressing, broccoli casserole, creamed corn, squash casserole, Kentucky Wonder home-canned green beans, turnip greens, freshly-made cranberry sauce laced with orange slices, onion casserole and her creamy smooth cranberry Jell-O salad. Then various family members would bring their own offerings such as fresh rolls, ice chests of tea & soft drinks, or a specialty dish that they were trying out. For years I liked to add my seester’s own yummy sweet potato casserole and my own pumpkin pies.

Papa dearly loved pumpkin pies and nothing made me happier than rolling into Huntsville the night before Thanksgiving, leaning in close to his Old Spice scented cheek and whispering in his ear that I had made him a batch of pies. One holiday he was especially pleased to hear that Uncle R and I were unloading 13 pies made into the wee hours of the night before. It sounds like an outrageous number of pies but in those days we might have 25 or more people at the table and would need enough to feed everyone. And then again, Papa always liked to hear that there were extra pumpkin pies in the freezer waiting for Mama to add to his evening meal.

This year I made the sweet potato casserole again and also brought 2 store bought pumpkin and one sweet potato pies. Our talented JenMo brought three homemade apple pies and niece JulSmi brought a pecan pie. Needless to say by the end of two turkey meals I crept off to bed last night, hoping that one day in the future I wouldn’t feel to painfully full. It was amazing, though, for sure!

I hope that my precious Pamela’s Girls had a wonderful day yesterday! I am thankful for so many blessings that the Lord has graciously and freely given and the Pamela’s Girls are special gifts in my life for whom I am very grateful.

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful. Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God.

Colossians 3:15 & 16 (New American Standard Bible)

With love from Auntie J