My family has experienced a variety of Thanksgiving celebrations—some a success, others not so much. Being a former early childhood educator, one year I decided to transfer a lesson to our family Thanksgiving and moved tables outside much like you would see pictured in a book. I didn’t stop there. Each child and cooperating adult were to choose from homemade Pilgrim, Native American and turkey costumes. This was not a family hit and ranks up there with the worst idea never to be repeated.
The most memorable Thanksgiving took place at my daughter’s house. We had an unusually large crowd that year, so roasted two large turkeys in two different houses, in addition to using the smoker for a third. As I went to pull a turkey from the oven, the disposable aluminum pan—for supposedly easy cleanup—buckled and all the turkey fat juices spilled in the oven, ignited the stove on fire and scorched my eyebrows, bangs and hair around my face. There was nothing easy about that cleanup. My daughter got a new heavy-duty turkey roaster that Christmas from her father as a apology gift.
Now, my oldest daughter lives in a remote area and has bravely taken on the responsibility of hosting Thanksgiving. The morning includes shooting a variety of guns, so as not to interfere with afternoon games in this football crazy family. Our traditional meal consists of turkey and dressing, corn pudding, green beans, sweet potato casserole with pumpkin and pecan pies for dessert. And no, I am not allowed to remove the turkey from the oven.
I hope you enjoyed reading a few of my Thanksgiving memories, and possibly learned from them! In the end, it all comes down to family—the good, the bad and the funny.
