First Baptist Church of Herndon

Oh that turkey!

Linda Soller | Nov 25, 2013

As a child we celebrated the holidays at one or the other of my grandparents’ homes. Thanksgiving was always at my maternal grandparents’ home. There were a number of things that made this particular celebration become my favorite. First was that it was the closest to my birthday and even though chocolate cake with chocolate icing might not be the norm for Thanksgiving desert, there was always such a cake at our celebration. It was/is my favorite and my Granny B always had one for me. Secondly there was always one wrapped Christmas gift for each of the grandchildren sitting on the steps. This was just a preview of the next holiday celebration. Thirdly it felt like such a friendly holiday. Grownups eating massive amounts of food, lounging in front of the football games on TV, a bit of late afternoon snoring was always good for a laugh, and no one seemed rushed. Lastly, but certainly not the least, I loved the time with my cousins. Four of us were very close in age; the fifth was a bit older. There were three boys, two girls, two older sisters, you figure it out. We would play outside, argue, put on plays, argue, eat too much, argue, and boy was it fun. I hated to leave at the end of the day. Years later my little sister came along and it was like having a new toy to play with.

Don’t think it was perfect. I really didn’t like the way the men got to sit at the dining room table and the ladies and kids got stuck in the kitchen. I was quite sure the men didn’t appreciate how lovely the table looked, and they would have been happy anywhere as long as their plates were full. But, it was a different time.  I was also a bit concerned about the dark meat and the gizzard. There were only two of us who strongly favored the dark meat, and that was my Uncle Wayne and me. The turkey was always large enough that the dark meat never became a real problem, but the gizzard was a different story. I made sure as soon as I arrived to remind my Uncle Wayne that we needed to share the gizzard, and he always did, but I kept a watch out to be sure.

Years later my Granny B announced that she was old enough to take a break and the family celebrations needed new homes. She wasn’t one for mincing words. Without hesitation I volunteered for Thanksgiving. I was pretty excited until the day drew near to cook my first turkey.  I had heard tales of early mornings in the kitchen putting “the bird” in the oven so it would be ready on time. I pondered if I should go to bed at all or just sit in the kitchen waiting for the appointed hour. Pretty much all I had to do was provide the location and the turkey. Well, you can imagine the pressure. The turkey came home from the store and I began to read the label. Surely there’s something wrong. There must be a manual or video to watch. It couldn’t be as simple as the packaging made it seem, but it was simple. Don’t you worry, over the years I found other ways to fret about the day, and I made sure the ladies got to sit in the dining room.

Thanksgiving is still my favorite family celebration. The gift we give to others is our time and attention. The theme is thankfulness. Because we celebrate all that we are thankful for I feel like we’re closer to God that day. I feel the presence of Granny B, Uncle Wayne, and my dad in the recliner. We are greeted by smiles. We are entertained by each new generation of children. We look out on the brisk day and feel the warmth of family. We know that God is watching over us. And oh that turkey!

Happy Thanksgiving - Have a great week. :o)                  

Linda