Happy Thanksgiving

It's me again from my kitchen table. This time it's Thanksgiving Day, our first Thanksgiving together, ever. It is also the first time, ever, that I have not been with my family on this day. Thanksgiving is my mom's favorite holiday and although we didn't do exactly the same thing every year, it was always filled with happiness. One of my favorite Thanksgiving memories is how for probably about 5 years running, we would all congregate from wherever we happened to be at a Mexican Restaurant on the night before Thanksgiving. Each year was a little different because we were coming home from different places, bringing significant others, then wives, then babies. But each time there was a reunion, there was laughter and there was most certainly cheese dip. Nothing brought our family together like a 3 dollar burrito.

I remember Thanksgivings in Oklahoma, Thanksgivings when we worked outside, Thanksgivings when we painted the kitchen, when we picked up pecans, when we went on a cruise and ones where we just sat around the fire enjoying eachother's company. Although every year brought some new change, I came away with the same memory of the way I felt.

And I just realized today what made that feeling possible. My mom knew how to celebrate and make every holiday a party no matter what we were doing. You see, I'm not with my family, I'm in a small apartment and I even have to go to work tomorrow. But somehow I have the same Thanksgiving feeling in my heart. Why? I think it is because my mom taught me how to celebrate too. She taught me how to have a holiday. I didn't realize it until now, but I have been acting out the exact same things my mother would do but just in different ways.

This is a page I took from my mom:

First,

You have to be around people you truly love and enjoy. Now, you can love someone and not enjoy them. But thankfully, Corey and I really enjoy each other's company and just have fun spending time together.

Second,

You have to do something that maybe you have never done before or just something that brings back sentimental memories. Whatever you do, the key is to make it a party. Even it isn't something that is inherently special, make it fun! Now, we didn't go eat Mexican last night. But I did make my first attempt at homemade pizza. The smell was good enough to knock your socks off and the pizza was pretty scrumptious for a first attempt. Add a caesar salad, a diet coke and snuggling up to watch a movie, and there you have our own Wednesday before Thanksgiving party.

Third,

You have to have a good smell. A smell that takes you back to good memories or just makes you feel good. Mine came in the form of cinnamon-smelling pine cones that I picked up at Bed, Bath and Beyond. Pile them up in a bowl in the middle of the table, and Voila, Thanksgiving for you nose. Sitting here, I feel like I'm 8 and smelling Jojo's cinnamon broom.

And finally,

Food. I just checked on my Apple Pie in the oven and felt a wash of joy. And the joy isn't just in the eating, it's in the making too. And making people happy by what you cook. Nothing feels more like a holiday than making special meals that fill your belly, maybe a little too much. I still can't think about eating from biscuits and gravy for breakfast.Throw in some good music to dance to while you're cooking and you can have a really good time!

I don't desire to spend every holiday away from the Greer Farm fireplace, but is sure feels good to know that I can and have a darn good time at that. Thank you, Mama.

Editor's Note: Exactly one day after the writing of this article, the author did shed a few tears because she missed her family. They dried quickly and she went on to enjoy the rest of her Thanksgiving weekend.