65th Thanksgiving

My first Thanksgiving was when I was 11 months old, I have no memory of it and had no teeth to enjoy it. 

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. When I try to think back to understand why this day is significant for me, my memories are like a fussy black and white silent film. I see glimpses of snatching olives off our bar counter and placing them on my fingers, my mother cooking and trying to keep us kids from snatching the olives, grandparents, cousins and siblings eagerly waiting for the meal to be served. After dinner, my father, my grandfathers, and uncles would go for walk. My mother, aunts and grandmothers would cleaned up the kitchen before desert was served. I asked my mother why they got to go for a walk and "we" had to stay and clean up, she smiled and whispered they need to go outside and "pass gas!", as a young girl I was taught that women never "passed gas", yet my father and brothers would laugh and be proud of whos was the loudest or smelliest. I did figure out that us girls can outdo them in that department! 

Nope, I don't think that is why I love Thanksgiving.  Once I left home, I do not have memories of making a Thanksgiving dinner or going back to my parents home, during the time I lived in Glendale CA. 

My clearest memory of Thanksgiving, is the first year that I moved to Seattle (1979), we went to a friends place in Olympia, WA.  All of us did not have family in Washington, so we decided to bring our owns family traditions to our meal, well to be honest we added some other traditions (beer and pot). At the time, that was typical of my generation. Driving home after that wonderful meal, a wind storm blew in and by the time we got home, most of the area was without power. That day made an impression on me about the importance of gathering with people and having a community meal and having a back up plan if we lost power.

The tradition I brought from my family was my mom's green bean casserole, it has a scratch cheese sauce with red cooking wine mixed in the green beans, before the cheese sauce is added.  It became the next generations favorite side dish also. 

In the 1980's some of my siblings had moved up to Washington and by the early 1990's I had three siblings living close by with their children. For some reason I decided that I would cook Thanksgiving dinner for my kids, my ex husband, husband #2, husband #2 family, my son's grandmother, my two sisters and brothers family. 

No one that I was or am related to was left out. The nieces and nephews had a great time getting together. I loved cooking for the family, it meant a lot to me that we were all together for at least one day each year. 

By the end of the 2000's my kids were grown, one was starting a family of his own, the other one was in the Air Force and not always able to be home. My nieces and nephews were having kids of their own and the family stopped having a group family Thanksgiving dinner. I still made a big Thanksgiving meal no matter how small the gathering was.  I would not take a vacation day the day after the holiday, myself and others would bring in leftovers in and we had a work family community meal. 

In the 2010's I insisted that I made the Thanksgiving dinner each year, even if I was down at my son's house in the Columbia Gorge area. Now I am making Thanksgiving dinner for my husband's family here in Kansas. I still have a glimmer of hope that once the pandemic is over, my kids will be able to come out and I will again be able to cook for them and their family. 

I am grateful for all the people that has crossed my path in my lifetime. Wishing each of you a day filled with love and family! 

Chris teaching my granddaughter the olive tradition.