Thanksgiving Brunch

We solved the dilema of Thanksgiving with a last minute suggestion from my daughter-in-law, Candice - a brunch! She brought over a breakfast casserole, my other daughter-in-law brought over an Oreo cheesecake and I threw a ham in the oven (the turkeys really were safe from us this year), some cheese potatoes, fresh fruit salad, 7-bean salad - all things that were pretty easy to prepare and not so traditional that they made me sad to have them.

Everyone came over to eat about 10 o'clock and we were done and the kitchen was cleared up by noon - and I didn't feel over-the-top stuffed! It left me with the rest of the day to just relax and read and watch shows (not football or the dog show) and indulge in a piece of pumpkin pie.

All in all a good day, and tomorrow we venture out to find a Christmas tree. It may even snow!

Surrounded by Turkeys

In the early morning hours, a mist sits low and wispy on the field next to Max's house.I watch it disappear as the sun moves higher and the air warms.

At the far edge along the tree line to the woods beyond,I see dark shapes emerging from the scrubby bushes until there is at least a dozen which have ventured out
a little way into the field. They are wild turkeys, dark brown and fat through the body with thin necks and small heads and they are feeding on the left-over grain scattered over the ground. They move slowly, casually; when I check back on them a short while later, they have blended back into the woods.

Later I am diving over some back country roads near our house, when I see a large dark shape take flight on the left side of the road. I realize it's a turkey and he is barely clearing the ground, just barely clearing my windshield.

It seems I am surrounded by turkeys this year, including the ones on television as cooks give out all kinds of advice on how to cook them. But I am torn about Thanksgiving this year. It was always my mother's holiday. And she did it wonderfully. I always meant to take it over, but I never did, and now she's gone and like it or not, do I get it by default?

I will not be able to taste her cooking again,and, even if I used all her recipes, I know I would not measure up. I won't be able to walk into her kitchen with my pitiful offerings of salad, cranberries, rolls - and smell all the aromas of the dishes she always made for us, including a roasting turkey.

My mother and I were a lot alike, but I am a pale immitation of her in the kitchen,
and somehow this year I don't even have the heart to try.

I think the turkeys are safe!

Halloween Twist

Max, Sarah and baby Nolan trick-or-treat


We passed a milestone last night, which I was well aware of, but it still made me feel a bit sad. Our son and his new wife and our first little grandson came to our house to trick-or-treat.

No longer are we the young parents with kids in costumes and bassett hound on a leash, walking the neighborhood in the dark, collecting candy and saying hello to all the neighbors we don't usually have a chance to speak to the rest of the year.

Now we sit at home waiting.

Waiting for trick-or-treaters, who have not come in our neighborhood since our own children have grown up. Each year I buy candy, just in case, but there it sits for want of a tiny ghoul.

Waiting for our grandchild, who came late, after they had spent time with friends. Who came tired and ready to go home .... a mercy visit to grandparents who just wanted a few pictures, who just wanted a touch of that magical night that was such a a big part of our lives while the kids were young.

It's a twist, a handing off of the baton, and once again we are on the sidelines watching as our children move forward.