Memories of Thanksgiving Past

When I was a little girl, the holidays brought such excitement and joy to me. I can remember it as if it were yesterday instead of almost forty years ago. I was from a large family of six. I had two brothers and three sisters, all younger than I. My mother stayed home and my father went to work each day. He was a truck driver and used to leave the house very early in the morning, before any of us kids were awake.

On Thanksgiving, we would all pile into our station wagon, us kids fighting over who would get the "way way" back and who would get a window seat and not get stuck in the middle for the long ride from West Haven to East Hartford to my grandparents house.

When we arrived, we would all pile into my grandparents' apartment. The aroma of turkey and the warmth of the oven made the apartment feel so comfortable and inviting. I loved going to my grandparents house anyway, but on the holidays, it was just special. The house would soon be filled with aunts, uncles and cousins.

When it was time for dinner, my grandmother always made the gravy, and I can still see her at the stove stirring the pan drippings from the turkey, steam swirling around her head, while my mother mashed the potatoes. My grandfather would cut the turkey and sneak me pieces of the crisp skin that I loved so much.

We would have a children's table and an adult table. I remember the first time I got to sit at the adult table. I think I was about 9 or 10. I felt so important! I would always want to sit right next to my grandfather. I idolized him. I remember he always liked to make his plate "swim" with gravy and of course, so did I. I still do.

After dinner, my cousin and I would try to hide and pretend we were sleeping to try to get out of doing the dishes. Never worked, of course! Then we'd all just lie around, talking, watching t.v., whatever.

My Thanksgivings have changed over the years. My grandparents passed on long ago. My parents, themselves, live in another state. My brothers and sisters are scattered all over the U.S. and as far as Alberta, Canada. Although I don't see them that often anymore, we do talk on occasion.

I cherish the memories I have of those Thanksgiving days almost forty years ago, just as I cherish each and every one since.