TheBanyanTree: Thanksgiving Day

[Margaret R. Kramer]

As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest
appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.
~John Fitzgerald Kennedy

The fog is hugging the ground this morning.  It’s the first Thanksgiving I
can remember in a while that we’ve had snow on the ground.  The sky gave us
another quick dusting last night and brightened up the fading beauty of the
snow left behind from last weekend.

I got up at 4:30 am, driven out of bed by dreams that didn’t make sense and
had way too much to do with work.  I let the dogs outside and got the coffee
started.  I took the Italian sausage out of the freezer to let it thaw.  It’
s the main ingredient for my fantastic  dressing.

As I waited for the coffee to finish, I thought about my day.  I’ll go to
the club and work out – cardio kickboxing to get the heart pumping.  I’ll
sit the sauna for a while and let the sweat pump out of my skin.  Then I’ll
head home.

I’ll see if I can get Ray to walk the dogs with me before I start serious
cooking.  We’ll meander with our big dogs through the “perfect neighborhood”
on the next street.  It’s a street with relatively new homes and well kept
yards and police officers as the main residents with happy and well behaved
children.

After we shake the snow off our feet, I’ll get the jello made and in the
refrigerator.  It’s the boys’ “favorite.”  Then I’ll get the turkey dressed
in its Thanksgiving finery and slip it into the oven.  That wonderful aroma
will waft through the house all afternoon and properly prepare our growling
stomachs for the feast ahead.

I’ll organize the rest of the food – rolls, vegetables, wild rice, pickles,
and pies.

Then I’ll shake out the tablecloth and change the casualness of our dining
room in an instant.  The room where we eat fast meals, watch the news on TV,
and read the paper becomes formal.  My parents’ china and crystal glasses
replace the every day dishes.  Lighted candles in turkey candle holders
provide the right accent.  I’m not Martha Stewart and we don’t have cute
little turkey place tags, but the center for our Thanksgiving feast is
elegant, yet comfortable.

For the boys, I think they’ll realize Thanksgiving is a little different.
They’ll be dressed up and instead of pizza, they’ll have this huge meal to
get through.  But the toys in the family room are the same.  The older one
will set up his trucks and the younger one will play with his dinosaurs.
They might want to go outside and drag their new sleds through the snow.  Or
beg to watch the “Spy Kids” DVD no matter how much we tell them we want to
watch football.

I’m thankful for the simple pleasures of this day; the foggy quiet of the
morning, the tingly feeling of my body after a good work out, the heat of
the sauna, the crunch of snow under my feet, cooking a good meal, setting
the table, candlelight, pumpkin pie with whipped cream, and the young ones’
laughter.

Margaret R. Kramer
margaretkramer at earthlink.net

http://www.polarispublications.com
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http://www.bpwmn.org
Business and Professional Women of Minnesota

Nature has no mercy at all. Nature says, "I'm going to snow. If you have on
a bikini and no snowshoes, that's tough. I am going to snow anyway."

* Maya Angelou