Thanksgiving Day Approaches at a Snail's Pace...

I have always enjoyed Thanksgiving Day as a holiday to remember, to recognize and to celebrate. Whether you have friends or family around or both, or neither, you still have plenty to be thankful for. For me it's about making the house feel welcoming, it's about sharing funny tales and cooking healthy, nutritional, tasty food for all who come to feast with us. The fond memories of Thanksgiving when we were growing up will always be treasured and sometimes be laughed about but they're ours to keep and keep them we will. I'll try to share some here as days go by and Thanksgiving finally does arrive...

I'll take you back some years now to a time when the four of us kids were all living at home. Mom and Dad had everyone coming to our house for Thanksgiving Day dinner so the typical hysteria ensued. There was the house that had to be cleaned and you would think with four kids to help, this would be quickly checked off the list. But no, we were lazy like all kids and didn't really think the house was all that messy. Besides, with everyone over, it would only get messier so why bother?

Well, Mom wasn't having anything to do with that theory. Not that she was a "Suzy Homemaker" by any means but she wanted it clean by her standards. I think I ended up with the bathrooms as my chore. Back then, there was no Clorox Clean-up or Windex (if there were, we didn't know it) or Instant Mildew Remover to make the job easier. It was good old Comet Cleanser and a weary old scrub brush. Remember how you had to rinse the tub first so the sprinkled Comet would actually stick to it and do its job? You had to do that step first so the tub could soak while the rest of the bathroom was cleaned.

On hands and knees the tub was scrubbed to a brilliant, white porcelain shine. It was rinsed and checked and scrubbed again. The soap dish was scrubbed and any dirty wash cloths and clothes were put in the hamper. I would wet a paper towel with ammonia to clean the fixtures and quickly dried them so no water spots would show.  Nothing of real interest in all that except for the fact that it was always baffling to me why I had to clean the tub so thoroughly when surely none of our guests would be bathing at the Thanksgiving Day dinner? Perhaps it was Mom's fear of someone actually pulling back the shower curtain and seeing that dreadfully embarrassing ring of soap scum...LOL! C'mon, I bet you've looked! ha ha ha

The flower vase and doily were moved from the toilet tank so the dust could be wiped from it. The lid, bowl and base were all cleaned and shiny so that our guests would think it was always kept that way. You know, just like we all still do to this day... With the sink scrubbed of all evidence of toothpaste, the toothbrush and soap holders likewise and the medicine cabinet mirror just beaming with my reflection, I was finished with my chore. I hope those people appreciated the work...especially the ones who peaked behind the shower curtain lol!!

Our living room floor was wood and it was my favorite part of the house next to the closets. I have a thing for closet organizing that I just can't control. A messy pantry and refrigerator will do me the same way. Wally says you know that I'm really friends with you when I organize those things for you and enjoy every minute of it. But back to the floors. Every so often they had to be shellacked so they would be protected from scarring and so they would shine again. This process usually happened around the holidays. For us kids, it meant putting on our socks, getting a running start out of Mom and Dad's room and sliding all the way from the hall to the far wall in the living room. We could really get flying when those floors were first done.

I remember us kids sliding along those floors and being perfectly content to keep doing so until Mom made us quit because one of us was inevitably going to get hurt. I remember the smell of the varnish like it was yesterday and of course, the cursing and the "Ronnie - you missed a spot" that made the process so special and so looked forward to in the years to follow. I don't remember anyone ever getting hurt :)

The turkey was put in the oven early in the morning and the whole house had those perfectly mingled scents of turkey roasting, potatoes boiling and celery and onions having been sauteed for stuffing. Mom would be delegating orders to everyone, Dad included, and the phone never stopped ringing. Everyone had to call to make sure we had what we needed, to make sure they knew what time to show up and whether or not they could bring someone else with them. There was no such thing as call waiting. It never really mattered what time they showed up as long as the house was clean and food was cooking. Since Dad took most of the calls, that's what most callers were told.

The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade was on tv until time to switch to football. The parade used to be a real treat to watch. In recent years, not so much. Football was on tv all the rest of the day and no one minded getting up to change the channel. There were no remotes back then. The table was cleared of all the bills and miscellaneous mail and ashtrays were dumped and wiped clean and placed strategically around the house (yes, people smoked in their houses back then). We always had a big bowl of assorted nuts on the coffee table with a nut cracker close by. It wasn't the holidays without those nuts. We always had a glass candy dish that Mom would fill with hard candies. Remember the ones that looked like ribbons? Then there were the white ones with the silky green and red stripes running through them? And, of course, My all-time favorite - cinnamon! They would all melt a little bit and stick together in the November Florida heat but we had them and we gladly ate them nonetheless :)  

Uncle Dee, Aunt Karen and their kids, Uncle Mike, Aunt Sally or Aunt Patty (depending on the year) and their kids, Grandma and Pa, Doozie and Pap (when they were still with us) and all of us. The house was filled with Mom still giving orders for someone to set the table, get more butter out, check the rolls, help the grandparents into the house and make sure the salt and pepper were out on the table. Uncle Dee always made everyone laugh by telling his funny stories or making fun in general. Davey did his Lilly Tomlin and Tiny Tim imitations and we all watched football and cheered for our favorite teams. Dougy, Dane and Dale played army men or matchbox cars while Neccy played outside with the neighborhood kids. Me and Patty Ann traded off carrying Dean on our hips until he was too old and then we took up Darren and carried him instead.

The food everyone brought was set out on the table or kept warm in the oven. By the time the turkey was ready and on the table, there wasn't one person who wasn't hungry and it didn't matter how big a breakfast you had. You were ready to eat. The feeding frenzy typically began somewhere between 12:00 - 2:00. 

I remember Grandma's cole slaw and I still make her recipe to this day. She never failed to bring the cranberry sauce or at least the can of cranberry that you opened from the bottom. The cranberry still had the can rings on it so it was easy to slice. I remember Mom's stuffing - there was none better and I would be sure to stuff myself (ha ha) with as much as possible because I knew there would be no leftovers. I remember being one of the few who liked dark meat so a big, fat juicy leg or thigh was just fine with me. I remember Mom making the gravy in the roasting pan and my mouth would water for a taste of it. It was poured into a gravy boat and passed down the line. There was always "just" enough. Like the stuffing, there was no better gravy to be had. Mom's mashed potatoes were second to none and I'm pretty sure they were all Darren ate. To this day, he still requests them. Doozie would bring rolls and green beans and Aunt Karen would bring sweat potatoes or another such vegetable. The rolls were so hot, if you didn't break yours open before buttering it, the butter would slip right off. Aunt Sally always had pies in hand - cherry, apple, pumpkin - all of them were wonderful. All of them got eaten.

At the table or sitting around the living room, everyone talked about the food, what they had been up to lately and what the plans would be for Christmas. The house was full of Thanksgiving Day smells, our bellies were full of Thanksgiving Day food and our hearts were filled with thanks for being in a family such as ours. In the end when all the food was put up or sent home and the dishes were washed, dried and put away (no dishwasher -please), you could feel the calmness coming over the whole house. We knew no different back then and it was a wonderful way to grow up. 

 "Forever on Thanksgiving Day
The heart will find the pathway home."
~Wilbur D. Nesbit