Food for thought

Today it is all about the food! The turkey and stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy and of course pumpkin pie. Or is it? This morning many will participate in a local Turkey Trot for charity, some will trot around the few open stores promising deals as good as Black Friday. Others will gather around the TV at 11:30 to watch some football, some have a job to do, nurses, doctors, the Starbucks workers, police and control center employees. Many will continue the traditions they have followed set by generations before them.
As a child I loved those traditions, the smells from Mom’s kitchen, the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade on TV and the excitement of knowing we would soon head to Grandma and Grandpa’s house. Years later, as a young adult it was fun to get everyone ready to go to my Mom and Dad’s house, gathering around the table with my parents, siblings and their families, the laughter, the noise and the fantastic meals. Now we live far from that farm house in eastern South Dakota, today the members of my family that can, will be there enjoying Mom’s great feast. We will be there in spirit. We will celebrate Thanksgiving in a different way this year. Mark went to work at 5:00 this morning, I will do the Turkey Trot with friends from work and we will have a small gathering of a few family members and a few college students from China this evening. We are in a very different place now than years ago, life has changed and evolved into today. We will think of our kids, grandkids and family that can’t be with us. As I prepare the meal for this evening using the recipes I have gathered over the years, thinking of our family and friends and having a heart filled with gratitude that we have shared a meal or two, a laugh and a tear. Though the food will be good, the gifts we receive today and everyday is really what it is all about!