Giving Thanks
With Thanksgiving just a couple weeks away I was thinking about the holiday meal. Thanksgiving's past when my grandparents were still with us there was no thought at all as to the holiday meal. The turkey and all the fixings would be at their house like every other holiday meal during the year. It would takes days of preparation for them to prepare a meal for about 12 family members, give or take, depending if my uncle brought a date or not.
My grandfather would go to the store to shop for the biggest, fattest turkey he could find. He always did things in a big way and Thanksgiving was no different. So, about a week before his task would begin of going to every store in the tri-state area almost looking for the perfect turkey. Once it was found then the work began. Of course that big turkey was frozen and it would take days to thaw and so it would be placed in the fridge to thaw in time for Thanksgiving dinner. The night before Thanksgiving was turkey roasting time for him. He would get out the turkey pan, he had a special pan just for Thanksgiving day turkeys, and then the special turkey seasonings would be patted on the turkey. His special seasonings consisted mostly of salt and pepper and poultry seasonings. They were rubbed on the turkey all over and the giblets would be used to make the gravy later in the day. Oven set, timer set and in the oven it would go. It would stay in the oven all day and all night, literally. It was a time consuming process which had him basting every 2-3 hours and checking on it in between basting times. The preparation of the Thanksgiving turkey was solely his job and he loved every minute of it. My grandmother would cook all the side dishes. She would make the yams, vegetables, mashed potatoes, dressing and anything else that she could think of. The pies would be brought from the same bakery that my grandfather had gone to since I was born. He would get pumpkin chiffon pies, two of them to be exact, and he would get minced meat pie, which nobody ate but him. He couldn't understand why nobody liked the minced meat pie but that didn't stop him from buying it every year. As long as he liked it he was added to the table of pies. The table of pies was a little card table which held the desserts, the pies and the special French pastry that he would get just for me. There would always be a little box over there with just my name on it. Sometimes I would share with my cousins and sometimes not. I know on Thanksgiving I was being selfish but there were rare times when I would have something just for me. And this was one of those rare times. I think that my grandparents understood that and that is why I got the special treat.
So, after everyone was gathered around the table it was time to say what we were thankful for. Then the turkey was brought to the table with pride. My grandfather had a smile as big as the grand canyon as he placed that perfectly cooked turkey on the table, at the head of the table where it belonged. It was cut to perfection with his special electric knife that he was equally proud of and the big question would be asked of the day. Would you like dark meat or light meat? Everyone always had the same answer every year but yet that same question would be asked and I think it was because he just enjoyed carving that bird so much and liked to hear the answers. I always had both with lots of gravy on both the turkey and the dressing.
That was Thanksgiving past. In 2013 I no longer have my grandparents and no longer have the big family. Most of them are still alive but as families sometimes do ours drifted apart after my grandparents passed away and now it is rare that everyone is the same place at the same time anymore. Everyone is now doing their own things with their immediate families. It is kind of sad that cousins don't know cousins anymore, cousin's don't grow up with cousin's anymore like my sister and I did. Aunts and uncles no longer get together and mingle and talk about their kids anymore. Funny to think that those were the good old days now. And funny to think that those aunts and uncles I used to see all the time that I don't see too much today they are all grandparents now. Even my sister, my younger sister, is expecting her first grandchild in February.
So, this year Thanksgiving will be a lot different. I ordered a pre cooked dinner from the store. My grandparents are probably rolling over in their graves now. But, it is a very small gathering that will be happening at my house. Five people will dine on turkey and all the fixings and this year just maybe I will go out and get those French pastries that my grandparents used to buy just for me and this year I will share them with my son and tell him the story of how they became a Thanksgiving tradition for me.
My grandfather would go to the store to shop for the biggest, fattest turkey he could find. He always did things in a big way and Thanksgiving was no different. So, about a week before his task would begin of going to every store in the tri-state area almost looking for the perfect turkey. Once it was found then the work began. Of course that big turkey was frozen and it would take days to thaw and so it would be placed in the fridge to thaw in time for Thanksgiving dinner. The night before Thanksgiving was turkey roasting time for him. He would get out the turkey pan, he had a special pan just for Thanksgiving day turkeys, and then the special turkey seasonings would be patted on the turkey. His special seasonings consisted mostly of salt and pepper and poultry seasonings. They were rubbed on the turkey all over and the giblets would be used to make the gravy later in the day. Oven set, timer set and in the oven it would go. It would stay in the oven all day and all night, literally. It was a time consuming process which had him basting every 2-3 hours and checking on it in between basting times. The preparation of the Thanksgiving turkey was solely his job and he loved every minute of it. My grandmother would cook all the side dishes. She would make the yams, vegetables, mashed potatoes, dressing and anything else that she could think of. The pies would be brought from the same bakery that my grandfather had gone to since I was born. He would get pumpkin chiffon pies, two of them to be exact, and he would get minced meat pie, which nobody ate but him. He couldn't understand why nobody liked the minced meat pie but that didn't stop him from buying it every year. As long as he liked it he was added to the table of pies. The table of pies was a little card table which held the desserts, the pies and the special French pastry that he would get just for me. There would always be a little box over there with just my name on it. Sometimes I would share with my cousins and sometimes not. I know on Thanksgiving I was being selfish but there were rare times when I would have something just for me. And this was one of those rare times. I think that my grandparents understood that and that is why I got the special treat.
So, after everyone was gathered around the table it was time to say what we were thankful for. Then the turkey was brought to the table with pride. My grandfather had a smile as big as the grand canyon as he placed that perfectly cooked turkey on the table, at the head of the table where it belonged. It was cut to perfection with his special electric knife that he was equally proud of and the big question would be asked of the day. Would you like dark meat or light meat? Everyone always had the same answer every year but yet that same question would be asked and I think it was because he just enjoyed carving that bird so much and liked to hear the answers. I always had both with lots of gravy on both the turkey and the dressing.
That was Thanksgiving past. In 2013 I no longer have my grandparents and no longer have the big family. Most of them are still alive but as families sometimes do ours drifted apart after my grandparents passed away and now it is rare that everyone is the same place at the same time anymore. Everyone is now doing their own things with their immediate families. It is kind of sad that cousins don't know cousins anymore, cousin's don't grow up with cousin's anymore like my sister and I did. Aunts and uncles no longer get together and mingle and talk about their kids anymore. Funny to think that those were the good old days now. And funny to think that those aunts and uncles I used to see all the time that I don't see too much today they are all grandparents now. Even my sister, my younger sister, is expecting her first grandchild in February.
So, this year Thanksgiving will be a lot different. I ordered a pre cooked dinner from the store. My grandparents are probably rolling over in their graves now. But, it is a very small gathering that will be happening at my house. Five people will dine on turkey and all the fixings and this year just maybe I will go out and get those French pastries that my grandparents used to buy just for me and this year I will share them with my son and tell him the story of how they became a Thanksgiving tradition for me.
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