By Peggy Goodrich, Commentary
Are you taking time to give thanks for all your blessings? Think about it.
Aren’t we glad someone had the foresight to set aside a special day to give thanks? What better reason to gather with friends and family than to give thanks.
The celebrations of today are a far cry from the Thanksgiving feasts when our parents and grandparents were alive and we all met together. We all brought food but Grandma or Mother made the dressing and cooked the turkey. We served turnips to remind us of the meager times Grandma and Grandpa had when they first came to Indian Territory. They lived on turnips and wild game, but they ate what they had with gratitude and appreciation. Times have changed from those early days. Now we have so much and some of us still complain and whine.
Hopefully sometime during the Thanksgiving vacation our grand- daughters with our two great-grand- babies will be with us for a special Thanksgiving meal. There are so many relatives and in-laws to celebrate with we just are grateful they take time to come to our house and visit. Because they are eating the traditional dinner of turkey with all the trimmings, I will serve a simple meal with salad and banana pudding. No matter what we eat we will have a wonderful time catching up on the latest events in their lives. Then, as any time, it will be a special joy to have our daughter, son-in-law and whole family here for special thanks and sharing.
What plans do you have for Thanksgiving? By the time you read this, your plans already are made and preparation for your dinner is probably well under way. Because of weather or something unforeseen, there always will be a few changes and we have to be prepared for drop-in guests or those who had to change plans at the last minute. No matter who shows up or what time the meal is served, it will be a festive occasion to have everyone around the table or going through a buffet line.
This year as every year, we have so much for which to be thankful. Maybe it is because we are getting older, but every day is a blessing to us. Every day we awaken with a clear head and can breath, eat and enjoy living is a blessing in itself. We make it a habit to wine and dine instead of whine and pine. We make every day count for something positive and creative.
We are eternally grateful for friends who bring special joy into our lives. We are blessed with friends we can always count on to be by our side and supportive. Church friends, Marine buddies, neighbors and others are blessings. All are special.
We constantly are grateful to God for food, for our home, for warm clothing, for health, for friends and family, for freedom of religion and all the other freedoms we take for granted in this country. When we look at other countries, we realize how very blessed we are to have basic necessities. We just need to count those blessings. There are two kinds of gratitude: the sudden kind we feel for what we have and the larger kind we feel for what we give. Try giving this Thanksgiving. We will be blessed if we do.
We seem to think the Pilgrims had a fabulous feast every Thanksgiving. However, along the way, food became scarce and food supplies got so low each person received a ration of only five grains of corn. They still were thankful for their blessings. Today in America, we need to look at what we have and not what we don’t have ... and be grateful. When we sit down to our special Thanksgiving dinner, we will probably eat too much and talk too much and laugh too loud, but we can never praise too much.
When we count our many, many blessings at Thanksgiving and all the time, we include our dear friends, Hazel and Bill, who supply us with wonderful produce all year long. It is a joy to drive out to their country home and enjoy their yard, see their garden and visit. We always come away with our car loaded with goodies. On our last trip, Hazel went in the house to bring out some turnips for me to taste that she had prepared. Well, I emptied that entire plastic container because they were so good. When we serve turnips at our Thanksgiving dinners, most of the kids turn up their noses, but this year will be different, because I am making Hazel’s turnips. You’ll love them, too.
Hazel’s Wonderful Turnips
raw turnips, peeled and sliced or cut into chunks
Velveeta Cheese
salt and pepper to taste
Prepare turnips and boil in water (with a pinch of sugar added) until turnips are tender. Drain well. Place chunks of cheese and seasoning on hot turnips and let cheese melt with lid on kettle. Stir a little and they are ready to eat.
Count your many blessings, name them one by one. Enjoy a safe holiday and the comfort of family and friends together.
Send your comments to: Peggy Goodrich, Food For Thought, P.O. Box 1192, Enid, OK 73702.
