Homebodies - Thanksgiving of laughter and memories
- Details
- Published on Saturday, October 17, 2015
By Rita Friesen
The Neepawa Banner
Our family gathering this Thanksgiving will long be a topic of laughter and memories. There were fifteen of us at my sister’s country home. The weather allowed us to mingle and mix outside, while a few choose to engage in a game of Cribbage.
In times past we would have a children’s table and an adult table, often eleven young kids giggling and wriggling and having a wonderful time. As we reflected on time’s past – fifteen to twenty years past- one young adult chuckled and reminded us that if we opted for a kids table, the average age would be twenty-five!
Supper was scheduled for five o’clock. At four the news ran through the assembly; the power was off. My brother-in-law, chef du jour, checked the home power pole to see if the problem was local. He then called Manitoba Hydro to have a robot voice intone that due to a scheduled work order, power would be off from one to five. On Thanksgiving Sunday? The good news was that the turkey was cooked, the gravy ready and most of the food hot enough.
At five we crowded into the kitchen seating area. I was the senior member, my brother-in-law a little younger, my sister, and my daughter and her husband totaled five family over thirty, the other ten ranged from twenty-one to thirty. We were a ‘big’ crowd! We tried to locate the lefties at places where they could eat comfortably, it was a tight fit. Table talk included games and gaming, the drought in California, heirlooms, hobbies, gardening – and no politics!
With no electrical power, it wasn’t long before we had no water. Good humour and good manners made the meal a success. It wasn’t until we got down to the desserts that we realized the apple pies were still semi frozen. One young man suggested firing up the barbeque to thaw them. And so it was that the apple pie and ice cream had a slightly smokey flavour.
It was difficult deciding when to depart. Do we leave before doing supper dishes? There were a great many. The scheduled outage from one to five had begun at four, did that mean we would be powerless until eight? It is my custom to be a dish washer when I have not been the cook, but, with few regrets, I skedaddled before we had water.
Kids table, BBQ apple pie, love and laughter. It was the first Thanksgiving without my beloved. But there is the wonder how life flows on. Some of the young family members are buying homes, some getting married, some finding great jobs. All showing respect and support for one another. Great memories.
