Atmospheric Thanksgiving Part One

(One of my Grandma Vera's boxes, given to me with most of her collection)

It is one of those case of having too much to tell. Though Thanksgiving growing up was never much of a holiday for me, even up to graduation from college, it has become a day (or really a week) that I cherish. For the past several years I had the privilege of putting on Thanksgiving, and between the sticky potatoes and often-cold side dishes there have been some special treats and hearty laughs. This year, however, it was somewhat out of my hands.

It was a nice break, but I intend to take the reins again next year despite this success. I simply love putting on Thanksgiving. And here's why: I love creating environments of comfort and inspiration. Few holidays present such an opportunity for this type of environment, in fact I have a theory that Thanksgiving is really all about the harvest. We celebrate the comforts the last several seasons have left us with, which we hope will get us through the difficult winter come-what-may.

Really we had at least three different Thanksgivings this year, and I want to share a bit of each here. First, we visited my Grandma Vera's retirement home for a free Thanksgiving feast the Sunday before the big day.

My Grandma Vera was married 74 years ago on Thanksgiving. They had oyster stew, and then climbed into a car to drive across state to my Grandpa Elof's new job. Along the way the back of the car made a racket, but they assumed it was tin cans tied to the bumper. Actually it was their car falling apart, but they made it anyway.

When they arrived in town, the man my Grandpa Elof was to get the keys to their new apartment from was not there. The neighbors spotted them as "the newlyweds" and word traveled down the street as they yelled across from their windows. The man with the keys was discovered.

Unfortunately, Grandpa Elof died when I was a freshman in high school. I certainly wish he'd had more time. My Grandma still remembers him, still tells stories about things he would do or jokes he would like. She manages to include him somehow in everything. I have a lot of respect for both of them.

It became clear throughout the Sunday dinner that Grandma Vera had forgotten her invitation to Thursday's Thanksgiving and she was most happy to be reminded. To sweeten the deal my sister and I invited her to visit our apartments before the feast. At this point my Grandma Vera was glowing, which is always so beautiful to see.

She began to happily chat with us, which is rare since she is a bit shy and so are we. She discussed how fascinated she is with today's technology. She seemed particularly interested in our cell phones. She talked about how different things had been when she was born. Born into a sod house with no running water. I love it when she talks about her past, which she does more now that I have conveyed to her my genuine interest.

(Recently she showed me pictures of my great grandparents. I have my Great-Grandpa Charles Elof's nose!)

After the meal, my siblings had to leave. The rest of us played a jolly game of Pinochle. Games are another link I have to my Grandma Vera and Grandpa Elof. Gaming runs from that side of the family, though my Dad never likes to play games and didn't even when we were young. My Grandma is still quite cunning competition in Pinochle. Though, you can tell ever so slightly her memory is starting to give out around the edges.

All I could possibly hope for in life is that I live as long, as well, and as healthfully as she has.