Thanksgiving Without Pumpkin Pie

It’s almost midnight, the night before Thanksgiving.  

I’ve just finished writing three thousand words for my NaNoWriMo Challenge. http://nanowrimo.org  I’m trying to make up for two days of non-writing.   I have plenty of reasons for not writing for two whole days, but none seem as good as they were when I came up with them.

I’m sitting here in my made-for-a-short-person chair and I want to write a short post for my blog.  Mom just went to bed to read a bit (like she always does) before she turns off the light to sleep.

Mom, Checking Facebook While Snuggled on my Couch

Mom is visiting me for about ten days.   She brought with her (from St. Ignace) a horrendous storm that dropped about ten inches of snow on Ann Arbor.  She’ll be spending this Thanksgiving with me.  

Snowy Day After Mom Arrived by Argus Farms

My friend, Ameera, her mom, sister and her niece are coming.  And my favorite soprano, Lucy, is also joining us.  She sits next to me in the Our Own Thing Chorale.  

I called to order a halal turkey at the market where I purchased one last year.  I wasn’t unable to get a turkey.  So, I decided the menu would change to Irish-Halal stew.  Why?  I love stew and I think I’m darn good at slow cooking it to make a delicious meal.   So, I bought some halal lamb to use in the pot tomorrow.  Mmmm, it will be scrumptious! More changes will be on the menu, new traditions started from scratch.  

My son, Holden, will most likely celebrate in Berlin, with friends.  My daughter, Elizabeth, may not have the energy to celebrate after traveling back from Berlin to Turkey.  She’ll have another two hour train ride after she flies into Istanbul to get to Eskişehir, where she’s living and doing her graduate work in Anthropology. 

Eskişehir, Turkey (not in November!)

She went to Berlin to see Holden debut as a tenor, in Don Giovanni.  http://www.alltagsoper.com/  (a practice 3 wks. before the show opens) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CP81OaEfYjk  (an interview with Holden before the show opens)

Holden and Elizabeth in Berlin
(I'm VERY jealous I couldn't be there for the Opera)

My niece, Sarah and her family, will be on hold for Thanksgiving because Sarah’s friend is due to have a baby on Thanksgiving Day, which she will not want to miss! Many of my friends and family will be on the road the next few days.  I hope the weather holds back on winter until all of our loved ones are all safe and sound- - - arrivals and departures.  

I have to share a short story my mom told me this morning.

“Marg, I woke up at 5:30 this morning, because I thought I heard your phone ringing!  It went off several times and I thought,  

’What if it’s Holden or Elizabeth calling and they need to get ahold of Margaret and she’s not answering? I better wake her up!’  

So, I got up and was about to go wake you up and I realized it was the train going through town, and not your phone.”

We both had a great laugh because my phone sounds like a train when I get a call.  Mom said she decided to go back to bed and not wake me up.  (Whew)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LL-ZpVkiu4Y

Making memories is wonderful.  May your Thanksgiving, or version of Thanksgiving, bring a memory to cherish.  It’s not about the pumpkin pie, the white or the dark turkey meat.  It’s about trying to fit the puzzle pieces of “Family” together with what you have right in front of you.   Whether it’s a blood-line making it family or love and friendship, I hope your eyes and ears are open to the joy.  

Maybe the only joy is getting a word in edge-wise.  Maybe the joy is holding a new baby in your arms.  Maybe it’s hearing your grandchild say, “Why didn’t the Pilgrims have pizza on Thanksgiving?”  Or a young person asking, “Why can’t we have our cell-phones at the table?”  

Relax and enjoy your holiday.  Happy Thanksgiving!

This link is for Elizabeth, hope she slept on her train ride.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8oVTXSntnA0 (6 hours of sounds of being on a train)