Time for Turkey Memories

I have so many memories of Thanksgiving Day, especially those when I still lived with my parents. My brother, Joe, and I were active in cooking the huge meal. It started early in the week with taking our mother to the different stores to buy everything she needed to make the perfect meal. I hated going in the poultry store where Mom bought the freshest turkey she could buy. (If we got it any fresher, it would have been running around.) The store reeked of a strong odor that attached itself to our clothing and lingered in our nostrils. Even the paper bag had the peculiar smell forever. (As I think about it, I can smell it now. Yuk.) Then the night before Thanksgiving Day, we prepared the dressing, made the noodles, finished the pies, ground the cranberries for the cranberry salad, and cleaned up the kitchen. On T-day, we got up very early to begin the actual cooking. Dad would build a fire in the stove in the basement to keep us warm. And we always had to open the doors to cool off! With the living room television tuned in to the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, the three of us began the masterful task of creating the best Thanksgiving meal ever made. And we did. I am so grateful for those times together as family and for learning how to cook the big meal. After Mom passed away, Joe and I continued the tradition in my home or his, making many more memories. My brother has passed on too. I have many fond memories and no regrets, but do so miss them both.