Thanksgiving: My Favorite Holiday as a Kid

 

I loved Thanksgiving when I was young. Many of my favorite memories are of Thanksgiving and the special feeling of that day. Most of my peers when I was young said that Christmas was their favorite holiday, but for me it was always Thanksgiving. For my family there was a lot in common between the two: a day spent with family, lots of baking and cooking, board games and watching football, extended family and friends visiting. When I was a kid, we often went to my paternal grandparent’s house, who had a small farm in the country, about a 40-minute drive from my house. If we were spending the holiday with my mom’s side of the family, we typically gathered at my aunt and uncle’s big house that was in the same town as our house and that of my maternal grandparents. I loved going to both places! There were similar things, but also differences that made each place enjoyable and special. I loved the feeling of Thanksgiving, my family together all day, eating yummy food and playing together.

Together

We gather – Smiles and Hugs

Joyful to be together

With much to be thankful for

 

Laughter in the kitchen

Moms, Aunts and Grandmas

My cousins and I

Running and Laughing

We snuck cookies from the pantry – rolls from the warmer

And peaked at the pies sitting in the laundry room

 

Games and snacks

While the dads and grandpa watched football

Setting the long table – Stretching into the living room

Aunt Karen’s fancy dishes and candles in tall candlesticks

 

A huge platter and so many dishes to pass

Uncle Jim and Dad throw dinner rolls

Grandma’s look of surprise – Grandpa’s rebuke

Then comes the laughter

Always Laughter

Together on Thanksgiving

 

Thanksgiving on the Farm

 

Grandma in the kitchen – Grandpa adding wood to the woodstove
The food fills the small kitchen – the pies wait in the pantry where it is cool
Later when dinner is cleared, we’ll all play cards on this big table
 
The turkey in the oven fills the house with a delicious smell
His name is “Thanksgiving”
We fed him all summer – until Grandpa “harvested” him
“Christmas” is eating bugs in the field with the goats and sheep
He’s got a few weeks to get bigger – then it will be his turn
 
Potatoes we dug from the garden – veggies and fruit grown on this land
The table is full of our harvest
Long, sunny, hot days in the garden
With the sprinklers watering the dark soil in the evening
Grandma in the orchard – Grandpa tending the animals
My brother and I exploring – then jumping in the creek
 
But now we greet the cold rainy days – and keep warm by the fire
The winter garden is small – most of the land is resting
We are grateful for the summer harvest on this table
And anticipate the work of the next one
 
Grandpa always adds too much wood – the house gets too hot
Grandma opens the front door – then a window in the kitchen
The warmth of inside spills outside
Love and Laughter too
Hard work and Harvest
 
Thanksgiving on the farm