THANKSGIVING---THINKING BACK


Peggy and Chasity are in the kitchen preparing dinner for tomorrow.  Zack will be over soon and join in helping.  Chasity is 13 and Zack 15. They are two of our grandchildren.  They both enjoy cooking but it will be years before they realize the one that is really enjoying  the preparing of this feast is their Granny.

  It's time like these that Peggy lives for.  It's times like these that makes me realize how blessed I am to be married to this lady.  It's times like these that reaffirm in my heart and my mind that God loves and watches over us.

 Tomorrow will bring the whole family together.  Me and Peggy,  three wonderful children and seven fantastic grandchildren.  What a day it will be.  It is probably if not Peggy's favorite Holiday a very close second to Christmas.  I could spend the rest of this post and probably the next two post describing the food she will have for us to eat.  The girls will pack up to go boxes tomorrow evening and they won't have to cook again until the kids tell them "enough of these leftovers,  I want a burger." 

 Since my heart surgery the Doctors put me on a diet.  Before the surgery my favorite food group was salt.  The second favorite food group was anything containing fat and deep fried in grease.  After much discussion and debate,  I was convinced that if I wanted to stick around and enjoy sunrises, family get togethers and good friends,  I must change my eating habits.  I think I have done very well in changing to eating only healthy food.  The Doctor gave me three days of grace each year in which I can eat anything I desire.  The Three days are Thanksgiving,  Christmas and Easter.  Thursday will be my first day of grace.  I have thought about this often and when I say often I mean almost every moment I've been awake for the last few weeks.  When I was younger I had fantasies about things that I refuse to talk about on this blog but since April all my fantasies have been about food.  Peggy told me she was going to make the traditional Thanksgiving dinner because that's what the kids liked but she would make what ever I wanted for me.  You would be surprised at what goes through your mind when after a few months of eating only healthy food,  you are told you can have whatever your heart desires.  I thought to myself,  everyone else will be having turkey and dressing,  gravy and sweet potato souffle and their choice of five or six different casseroles.    There will be deserts that take up a complete table.  I could go on and on about what will be on the table, but as I thought I kept asking myself...."What do I really desire for Thanksgiving?"  

 Believe it or not the first thing that came to my mind was a hot dog.  Yep,,,,that's right...a hot dog smothered in chili and onions with an order of Varsity onion rings.    Make that two order of onion rings.  The next thing that entered my mind was sardines or vienna sausage.  Or how about some potted meat.  These are things I use to never eat but for some reason this all sounded so good.  All  of this thinking of food got me to thinking about things I use to really like to eat.  You know what I'm talking about.  The things your Mom use to make that no one else can make exactly like her.
Now don't get me wrong,  Peggy is a wonderful cook.  You only have to look at a picture of me a year ago to tell I had no problem eating her cooking.  And if you want to have a banana pudding contest,  I'm willing to take bets on hers winning.  I mean no one does it better.  But there are some things from my childhood I yearn to taste again.  I can still remember eating Mom's fried chicken or beef roast.  Every Sunday after church we would have one or the other.  And her fried okra was fantastic.  I have no idea what she did different but it was the best.  And pound cake......My word...oh me...slap my face and call me sally.  My mouth is watering just thinking about it.  I can remember her asking me once if I wanted some peaches to put on my pound cake.  That would be like putting chocolate syrup on a Yellow Jacket hot dog.  You simply can not fix perfection.  As I thought back to those Sunday dinners my heart pumped faster.  A tear came to my eye.  But at the same time a smile came to my face.  Back then it seemed as if every Sunday was Thanksgiving day.  And as I think of it now I realize it was.  We gave thanks together, as a family every Sunday.  We gave thanks for the food we were about to eat,  for each other,  for our Savior and for that day of rest the Lord had provided to us.

So after much consideration and thought.  After laying awake for hours at night and day dreaming all day, I have decided what I will have for Thanksgiving day.  I will eat turkey and dressing with my family and I will FEAST ON THE TIME I SPEND WITH MY THEM, I WILL GIVE THANKS FOR MY SAVIOR AND THE DAY OF REST HE IS PROVIDING.  ONE OTHER THING I WILL BE GIVING THANKS FOR IS ALL OF YOU.  IN ONE WAY OR ANOTHER, LARGE OR SMALL,  YOU HAVE EACH BLESSED MY LIFE AND I'M THANKFUL FOR YOU.

We as a family will be building memories this Thursday.  I pray you will also. 


    HAPPY THANKSGIVING