Thanksgiving
I wish I would be able to go back and get pictures from years ago for this post but that is impossible.
My earliest memories of Thanksgiving are more distinct then Christmas. At our house Thanksgiving was a bigger holiday then Christmas (almost). We butchered turkeys every year for as long as I can remember. It started small and has grown to doing almost 1,000.
I remember the butcher shop as a young child. I remember sitting on a low, wooden, backless chair with my head on mom's knee. Watching the feathers drop from the bottom of the feather picker. And falling asleep. I remember singing around the tables as we butchered and cut off meat. I learned many songs in the butcher shop. I remember playing games like "A my name is Ann, my husbands name is Andy........" I remember the coolness of the butcher shop on summer evenings, and how quickly it heated up. I remember the cold wind blowing in the cracks in the old door. Walking in to the house in the dark under full moons and new moons, dashing in in the pouring rain, sliding in on a fresh coating of ice. I remember hurrying to walk with someone else when I was afraid of the dark. I remember purposely walking in alone under a full moon dreaming of things. I remember cutting myself badly and sitting, holding my aching finger and trying not to cry.
I remember one cold February night when we were de-boning meat. My phone rang and I almost didn't bother going to check who it was. But I did and was quite shocked when it was a young man asking for a date. That young man has helped butcher many times since then!
The first year Kelsey was in school I skipped an entire day of butchering so I could take her to school and pick her up. We lived a tad over an hour away so it was hardly possible to go in between. It was the first time since I had been in 8th grade since I had missed a whole day. The next year we pulled Kelsey out of school. She only had a month left before leaving for Ghana and I didn't want to miss one minute of that years butchering.
This year I thought about it every day. What they would probably be doing, how tired they must be feeling. But balmy breezes and palm trees sure make Thanksgiving feel unreal! And that helps make me not so homesick!
Thanksgiving Day has always been spent with my moms family. Her mom said with doing all those turkeys we would never get a decent Thanksgiving dinner unless she makes it. I remember as a small child sitting around the table stretched as far as it could. But we fit! Grandma would pass the dishes begging people to eat more. Then as the cousins got older, there was a children's table in the foyer. Eventually as the cousins got married and more children were added, it was moved to the garage. Sometime around there, Grandma agreed to let everyone bring food. We always had the full Thanksgiving menu and then everyone stayed for cold turkey and leftovers for supper before heading home. Somewhere around Grandma's 90 birthday she agreed it was just too much for her to host it and her house was getting too small. My parents had just built a garage so it got moved there.
Last year we celebrated Thanksgiving without either of my Grandparents for the first time. My grandpa had died 9 years before. I helped care for him in those last days while making my place cards for my wedding. He was the quiet, calm one. Grandma was feisty and fun. Last year she slipped away suddenly after a massive stroke. She was 98 years old.
I never got to tell Grandma we were going to serve in Ghana. I have tried to imagine her response many times and I chuckle every time! She would have had quite a lot to say about it!
And in case you are wondering, my sister sent me some turkey so we will have a traditional Thanksgiving feast sometime here too. And Saturday all the missionaries will celebrate together. Except we will BBQ chicken instead of having turkey.
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