Thanksgiving: The Forgotten Holiday
by Franci Hart
Our marketing cycle rushes from Halloween right to Christmas, running over one of the most beautiful holidays of the year. Thanksgiving is a time for family gathering, recognizing blessings and creating lasting memories.
One of my favorite memories is my daughter’s first Thanksgiving in Chicago. She had just graduated from college, got a great job two weeks after graduation and was in living in her first apartment. I arrived late Wednesday night. Jamie had proudly gathered all the ingredients for a sumptuous Thanksgiving dinner. The plan was for me to teach her how to make cornbread dressing, among other delicacies. The next morning to our dismay we discovered that she has forgotten to thaw the turkey. We used a hair dryer, warm water, anything we could think of the get the turkey unfrozen. Finally, at 10 pm we had a delicious Thanksgiving dinner. The added benefit was that her boyfriend, soon to be her husband, got to eat his first Southern version of Thanksgiving.
A very special memory occurred when I was five years old and my sister and cousin were three. I was in my grandmother’s gigantic kitchen watching the Thanksgiving preparations. This was especially poignant, because my grandmother was upstairs ill with cancer. Her wonderful housekeeper, Ruby, was doing all the cooking for us. As she was preparing to put the sweet potato casserole into the oven, my grandfather, great Dr. Eskridge, started to put some sort of spirit, either rum or bourbon, into the dish.
I will never forget tiny little Ruby in her white uniform, with her hands on her hips saying “Not if my babies are going to eat it!”
My grandfather tried to explain how the alcohol dissipated with heat. But Ruby would have none of that. Consequently, there was no spirit in the sweet potatoes.
I have been traveling the Chicago for the past 20 years to spend Thanksgiving with my daughters and their families. Both of my son in laws love to cook and especially Thanksgiving. So, I get to eat two delicious Thanksgiving dinners. But what I truly treasure is the time I spend with family and friends.
My sister who lives in Manhattan for the past 30years has hosted an orphans’ dinner. This is comprised all the people that she and Craig know who do not have family in New York. Most years they serve around 25 people.
I give thanks that I have a warm home, family, the food on the table and that my health is good. Thank you Thanksgiving.
There are no comments published yet.