Thanksgiving Plans
Tomorrow is Thanksgiving and we are ready to go. The turkey is in the fridge, the stuffing, yams, and potatoes are ready to cook and I am deciding the best way to transport everything to my sister-in-law's house. Yep, life is full of compromises, and if you get the best of each world, you also have to accept the worst of each world.
Now, my youngest, Cassie, wanted to spend the day in the kitchen creating our feast and then relaxing around the diningroom table together. However, my son, Adam, home from college wanted to be with the extended family. "After all," he reasoned, "that's why we moved down in the first place."
My sister-in-law invited over 20 people - all of them family - and of course deserves help with the preparation. So when I accepted her invitation and asked what was needed, she said an entire turkey would be great. Maybe, she suggested, I could cook the turkey the day before, and have it all cut up and ready to serve. So, Cassie and I will get that wonderful traditional "together time." And she and I will recreate the old recipes that my mom and sisters had made when I was a child. And we will share the family lore and jokes that are remembered in the simple acts of cooking together. And after everything is ready, we will find dishes appropriate to shlepping hot food to the next house. Because the holidays are all about family, and that's where I want to be.
