Black Friday is also about to become a thing of the past- the opening of stores for shoppers on the Friday after Thanksgiving for the Christmas spending spree that all retailers are hoping will happen. This year there has been an upsurge of stores opening ON Thanksgiving Day so that shoppers can eat, cram their faces with food, and head for the stores to beat the rush. I fear heart attacks may occur since that amount of food cannot possible digest properly before the adrenalin rush of bargain hunting begins.
In a related event, I have been trying to figure out what the holidays are actually supposed to look like from my perspective. I am an older woman who has no extra money available for food purchasing, has several children all engaged in their own family dynamics and growth, and whose dining room became a reading room after the 6th child left home. Seventh child remains bolted into the basement here, with his large dog, but that might be a conversation for another holiday, not including the word Thanks in its name.
My fondest memories of earlier times and Thanksgivings with my family of origin include specific foods more than table decorations, as well as times for turkey basting carefully regulated to match the return of deer hunters from the forest. My dad had scoped out where the deer would most likely be on his way to work every morning for weeks ahead of this event, and off he went each Thanksgiving morning, one of his only days off from work at his job. We knew he would hunt until he shot a buck, or be back around 4:00 pm when darkness crept into the daylight hours.
Smells of turkey and stuffing , carelessly filling the center cavity of the bird filled the entire house. Carelessly is not a misprint either- apparently my mom and grandmother and generations before them had no knowledge of the dangers of placing the stuffing inside the Bird for Thanksgiving flavors to blend. Chopping those onions, celery and bread cubes took up most of the morning, and the word Stovetop meant something entirely different than it does today.
When mom wanted to get 'fancy' I recall a cranberry relish she would make, chopping up oranges and nuts and cooking fresh cranberries to just the right texture as she waited for the meal to come together perfectly. Green bean casserole, of course, but always accompanied by pearl onions in a cream sauce or baby sliced carrots in a buttery glaze. Mashed potatoes, not from a box but from a huge paper bag of potatoes, stored in the basement for keeping in a dark spot so the eyes did not grow on them, were only whipped with the hand beater just before serving. Gravy? Who made gravy like my grandma and mom? I think I may have it down pretty good now, but it took years for me to even dare try, and that was in rebellion of pouring it from a glass jar.
Mom's legacy of baking several pies is one I hope will continue, although it isn't looking like I inherited that particular gene. Sister Janet bakes a pie every week, and I am insanely jealous when I hear the sisters have gone and had pie and coffee on a Sunday afternoon with mom in Tennessee! I remember pumpkin, mincemeat and apple with a slice of cheddar cheese next to it.
I started this scribbling selection this morning before work, and now my steam is gone. I even forget what I was going to rant about, and I am sure this is a good thing! However, I do want to rant about God's love for me.
My budget is something that is not cool to talk about in most circles, and yet it is what it is. I work as much as I can on a job provided by God at a job I love and am well suited to. I pay most bills on time and have little left for silliness, but that too is fine. The upcoming holidays ahead can be stressful, even the simplest thing like buying extra food causes stress, let alone gifts for those precious grands I adore!
This morning I was in a mood, checked the books and had no food money. It's ok because I do have refried beans to last a lifetime(they were on sale and nobody doesn't hoard sale beans), and tortillas are cheap, albeit not that tasty. I just talked to God quite honestly and told Him I was not that happy with the current situation but would attempt a thankful heart at Thanksgiving because He knew if anyone did, how MUCH He had given me. I had my doubts as to attitude, however, and so I came home and opened the mail.
First an envelope from a collection agency saying my $42. was overdue so they would cancel my card. I am disputing this unknown bill Monday morning. Really? An overdue notice on the day I was already down? That was NOT the happiest piece of proof of God's love for me.
Then a Thanksgiving card from my sister, and a Food Lion gift card enclosed for $100. fell out. I wept. She is not any wealthier than I, she knew NOTHING of my struggle, and God used her generosity to prove, once again, that He loves me deeply. Seriously, it is not because of the turkey and all the trimmings I will buy tomorrow with great joy, but because He cared for me that I weep. He cared and He showed me He cared. He always cares, He loves me so well.
Thanksgiving cannot be taken from me. I refuse to stop thanking the One Who gives it all away, even His own Son(Christmas is coming!!) so that we can live abundantly, bountifully, joyfully, and have stuffing and mashed potatoes-two starches! in the same meal. :-) Oh, and my table decorations? Here it is:
