Confessions of a closet traditionalist!

As I laid in bed last night, I was thinking about all the tales of wonderful, traditional childhood Thanksgivings I could share with you in my post Turkey day blog. I could share them.....if I had any :-( I have Christmas tales I could tell or tales of venturing "out" to eat on Mother's Days and Easters but sadly I remember no poignant, or otherwise, tidbits of Thanksgivings. I'm pretty sure somebody cooked something that day but obviously nothing that said "wow, this is amazing!"  We had some traditions on holidays like waiting at the top of the stairs for Dad to get the movie camera going and Mom to hold the giant floodlights. We'd open one gift at a time (still today) so everyone could see exactly who was getting what from whom and it was always juice and coffee, stockings, breakfast and presents (still today.)  As children, we then went over to Grandma Hewitt's for another gift and dinner. I remember the games (button, button who's got the button and bingo) and raspberry sherbet balls. I also remember being sent to the den to sit, till I learned that I shouldn't say (out loud) that my cousin was a spoiled brat and nobody really liked her even though Grandma said "I know but we don't say it!!" That was about a 1/2 century ago...my memory's ok! Once we were "out of the house", Christmas dinner at "home" was spaghetti.. which was great... no fuss, no muss no "wow!"

 My family Thanksgivings began when I became a member of the Hatfield family...and that was long before 7/19/75.  Tradition is seeped deep inside this family. There was never a question where I would spend the 4th Thursday of November. Never a question where I was welcome.  I, too, had to earn my place at the big table and I did! There was always an extra plate and warm heart at Grandma Iva's table. Throughout the past 40+ years I have watched babies try their first solid food at that table.  I have heard the same stories, laughed at the same jokes and recalled why we never had beets at Grandmas. I have played Bingo and guessed how many candy corns were in the jar just to win a box of kleenex or a brand new toothbrush. I have sat in a room that barely fit the furniture much less a huge table and 30+ people. Memories of these Thanksgivings make me smile... the lack of them with Hewitts makes me sad....but only for a second. Moreover these memories keep me aware of how important traditions are in a family and how important it is to maintain and pass them on.  Yesterday, our tables weren't quite as full as in the past but thanks to Lee, we had our fried oysters (Ok I didn't but most did). I'm sure Grandma was smiling down and giving her first born grandchild a great big "Atta Boy!" while we were smiling up :-)