Thanksgiving Memories

 

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! 🦃

Instead of waiting till the end of the day and documenting what we've done, I decided to do a pre-Thanksgiving Day post and talk about some memories that Thanksgiving brings to mind.

As a young girl, I don't have many memories of Thanksgiving, but as I got older, around the teenage years, I specifically remember spending the day with aunts, uncles and cousins on my stepdad's side of the family.

It was so much fun and it shaped what I thought Thanksgiving should look like every year.

Football games on the tv, lots of food, and all the cousins out in the front yard playing a game of ball themselves. 

Those were great days!

After David and I got married, we alternated Thanksgiving between his family and mine. 

When David still worked in television we spent several Thanksgivings eating out, because he was assigned to do a story somewhere. Those were exciting days, but we were a little bummed that we had to miss hanging out with family. 

Once we had kids (and David no longer worked in tv), we would head down South to my dad's for Thanksgiving.

There we would find my stepmom up late into the night, making sure the turkey was in the oven at the right time, the side dishes made and all the desserts she insisted on making, like the one pictured above.

Neiman Marcus Cake was one of her specialties. I never knew anyone else who made it and to this day, have never had it anywhere else...until today.

This year I wanted to add it to my line up of food and bring a little tradition into our present day celebration.

But, back to Thanksgiving at my dad's...you never knew who would show up, which was the fun of it all. There would be cousins I hadn't seen in years, maybe some meat my dad got while hunting, cowboy hats everywhere 🤠 and always extra tables set up. 

My stepmom, Ruby, knew how to cook and I never realized how hard she worked until I became a wife and mom and began to feel the burden of all that myself. 

After lunch, my dad would sneak off into the living room, sit in his recliner (never reclined) and yell at the guys on the tv football game. 

What I wouldn't give to listen to him, once more!

There were years we would drive all the way to Junction, Tx. where David's Aunt Margie lives and join his side of the family there. 

Talk about an abundance...food and family!

People everywhere, tables set on the wrap-around porch, people in the dining room, sitting on porch swings, rockers and anywhere they could sit.

Then someone would take off on a 4-wheeler, while others sat around the tv and watched their favorite team. 

Several years hold memories of guitars being played, while Uncle Hollis showed us that he "still had it" on the dance floor 😀

Then, late at night, while all was getting quiet and settling down, Aunt Margie would have her 10:00 p.m. cup of coffee, sit in her chair and fall asleep. 

We would laugh at that phenomenon until we realized that David and his dad have the same

reaction to coffee in late afternoon or evening. 

🦃

Family and Food

Football and Fun

those are the memories of

Thanksgiving.

🦃

For all of this and so much more,

I am so grateful.

Whether you're living out established traditions,

or making new ones,

enjoy who and what

you have today.

💛

Until Next Time...

Blessings!