Thanksgiving memories ...

It's amazing what memories we have of Thanksgiving ... from years of long ago (longer than I want to admit actually) at my grandmother's house. She was one of those old fashioned type grandmothers who did everything in a proper manner. Just ask the rest of her 12 grandchildren and all would probably agree. We were not allowed to drink iced tea until we were ... well probably almost adults. It was not a drink for children!! I can't remember what we did drink -- probably milk!!

She had a table that folded right up against the wall - and yet could stretch out farther than I could imagine. I have no clue how many we actually sat around that table -- but I know my brothers did all kind of antics during prayer -- along with my cousins, Gary and Scott. They loved to 'de-pit' the olives -- pull the pimento out and I'm sure my parents, my aunt and uncle and my grandmother had it all figured out. However, I don't remember too much about that -- just from stories I have learned since!

I loved going to Grandma's house. She was the only grandparent (my mother's mom) that I remember much about. My mom's father died when I was just a little over 3. My dad's mother died when he was just 8 years old. I don't remember much at all about his dad but I believe he died not long after my mom's dad passed away. So, we spent most holidays at Grandma Nelson's house. Since she didn't have a particularly large family -- three children and twelve grandchildren, we could fit into her home quite nicely. My Uncle Cecil and Aunt Roberta lived in Tennessee so they usually didn't make it home for Thanksgiving. So, that left about 15 of us! But, we had a lively time.

After dinner which usually good desserts, there was often a lively discussion on a political topic -- which my dad and my Uncle Chuck shared. I couldn't tell you the topics, but all I know is that it got quite animated!

My dad had a deep voice and when he prayed, we all thought heaven heard right through the roof. His voice was so resonating that Uncle Chuck would threaten his kids that Uncle Dick would get after them if they didn't act right. However, the kids all loved my dad so they didn't seem to be too afraid. At least, I don't think they were!

I always loved heading to Grandma's coffee table. She had a glass cover on it and under the glass were the latest family pictures she had received. We always wanted to see who had been added!

When the table had been cleaned up and folded nicely back against the wall, it was time for hide-and-seek -- I have no idea where all we thought we could hide but we seemed to all race for Grandma's coat closet in her entryway. (I think we also tried to hide in a closet in her bedroom!) We'd hide behind her coats and maybe it was the smell of them that made us feel safe. Isn't there something special about a Grandmother's smell. Sounds weird, sort of, but I think we might all agree on that one.

We also loved to sit in her kitchen which had a big picture window. When I was little, it looked out over a big field. But, the years passed and homes were built there. But, she usually had a bird feeder hanging in her tree and how I enjoyed watching to see if there were any birds 'feeding'! What memories! Oh, and of course, I inherited her love for crossword puzzles. I remember her often as I'm working on a puzzle -- which I do everyday in the newspaper and almost go into withdrawal if I miss! Thank goodness that my mother-in-law is an avid crossword-er so when we stay with her, we share the task at hand!

I am the oldest of her 12 grandchildren and because of that, I had a very special place with my grandmother. I was reminded of that once in a while by my brothers or cousins but usually without any jealousy. Everyone had their own place but I had held a special spot with my grandfather before he passed away. It seemed my grandma and I shared a special love for him -- I have lots of film clips of my early days -- like 15 minutes of watching someone feed me a bottle. (Boring, I know .. but it must have been a treasure for my grandpa. He seemed to film it again and again.)

My grandmother has been gone for quite a long time now -- actually over 17 years. And yet I find myself from time to time wanting to drop her a note about the kids and grandkids. I remember when I last saw her before she passed away -- she had fallen right before we were to celebrate her 90th birthday. She was in the hospital and we took turns stopping by to see her. She was doing okay ... so okay that she looked over her glasses as she did so well and told me (when she knew they were considering whether she could return to her own home), "They are having a meeting of the board!" That was my grandma!!

Tomorrow I will celebrate my grandmother again -- I was fortunate to receive her china after she passed away and I will be using some of it tomorrow as we celebrate Thanksgiving Day. I don't have any olives so I guess my grandsons can't try to pull the pimento out of them .. but I'm sure they will have their own flavor of fun and they'll tell their own stories some day ... at my expense! One correction in the photo above -- my grandmother is actually holding Valerie -- I don't think Rachel had arrived yet!

"Over the meadow and through the woods to Grandmother's house we go .... "