Happy Thanksgiving Neighbors

Oh goodness. It's that time of year again already. Where do the minutes of our lives go so quickly?

I hope you are enjoying the company of loved ones on this Thanksgiving. I am spending the day with my family and I know we are going to stuff ourselves silly.

We have a few family traditions we always share together on Thanksgiving. A few of us get together so we can start cooking the night before. We spend the night at the house of the person who will be hosting Thanksgiving that year.

We nibble on our works in progress where appropriate. A good cook always tastes what she or he will be serving.

We then start our Thanksgiving morning with a cup of hot cocoa. It's the one time of year I gladly give up my cup of tea because we sit in our pajamas and swap stories like teenagers around a campfire.

We turn our attention towards the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade next. By the time it's over, a few family members who chose not to cook with us wander into the kitchen wanting to know where their Thanksgiving feast is. I can think of five people right off the top of my head that get shooed out of the kitchen every year.

We set the table and squeeze everyone in. We did away with a kiddie table because they always wanted to sit with us and we didn't like having them feel excluded.

We say the blessing and with a wink and a smile, someone always tries to sneak a bite of stuffing or steal a green bean before we get everyone served. We carve the turkey with a knife from a set my Daddy won at the national fair when he was a young man. It's my favorite part of Thanksgiving dinner because I can close my eyes and see my Daddy holding that big knife from the time he had dark brown hair until it turned gray and eventually fell out. It's like a slideshow in my head that brings back so many warm memories.

The men, boys and a couple of our girls who are sports fans head into the den to watch football. The women who cooked go to the living room to gossip about what they'll be getting their other loved ones and friends for Christmas. The women who didn't cook and a few men who are recruited against their will go into the kitchen to clean up and gossip about what they'll be getting those of us in the living room for Christmas.

This is my Thanksgiving year after year. I'm very thankful for that.

Tell me all about your Thanksgiving and please take some of these leftovers home with you.