I can already smell the turkey roasting in the oven, the stuffing swelling out of it as it bakes. The banana bread will be cooling on the counter next to the pies and the pumpkin roll. My good china will be taken out and cleaned, the table covered with plates of nuts and olives and cheeses.
“Mom, don’t forget to make some extra drumsticks,” Daniel will remind me (I haven’t been able to find a turkey with six legs yet, so he has to be content with the ones I get from the butcher.) He and Reid would eat 10 drumsticks if we had them.
“You are making green bean casserole, aren’t you?” my brother will ask when he calls to double-check dinner time. “I can’t have Thanksgiving dinner without your casserole!”
My parents and grandmother will be the first to arrive, grandma’s homemade cranberry sauce and Mom’s fruit salad in Dad’s hands while Mom and Grandma make their way through the door. Grandma always has a bright smile on her gentle face. “Smells delicious in here!” she will say as Eric helps her out of her coat. Mom will insist on helping to set the table while Eric mashes potatoes and I pull the dinner rolls out of the oven. Dad, our official turkey-carver, will station himself by the turkey after pulling the butcher knife from the block.
John comes in last, but with a big smile. My nephew grins his bright 5 year-old smile while my sister-in-law gets his coat off.
Before long, the house is filled with delicious smells, joyful laughter, and family conversation. Daniel, Reid and Desi will eat enough for an army and come back for more. Our little granddaughter, Shaelynne will toddle between our son, Corey and his girlfriend, Kylie. Eric occasionally reaches out to squeeze my hand, Mom passes Dad the cranberry sauce, Grandma and John make us all laugh at some childhood memory.
It’s a beautiful day. The snow falls gently past the windows, just enough to remind us that it is winter in Upstate New York, but not so much that people won’t be able to drive home. Coffee is poured, pie is sliced, sighs of contentment are heard around the table.
I can close my eyes and see it. It plays out like a scene from a family movie. It’s one of my favorite days of the year. I am reminded on this day of the great blessings God has poured into my life – my husband, my son and step-sons, Kylie and our granddaughter, my parents, brother, sister-in-law, nephew and grandmother. He has blessed me in so many ways beyond the meal and the pretty china and the lovely music playing on the stereo. He has blessed me with His joy and with His love. He has blessed me with a beautiful life. This day is only a sample of the great things He has done and I praise Him with a grateful heart!
“It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord, and to sing praises to Your Name, O Most High!” Psalm 92:1
