Gratitude

11 Qudrat 163 B.E. - November 14, 2006

Thanksgiving is coming up. It is one of my favorite holidays. I’ve enjoyed Thanksgiving all my life. My earliest Thanksgiving memory is my Grandmother fixing a turkey. I don’t know how old I was at the time or even what kind of turkey she was dressing. I know the turkey was huge, even gigantic or at least it seemed to me then. I don’t know if the turkey were fresh for frozen.

I remember Grandma Newland taking dressing and stuffing it into to turkey. Then she sprinkled salt and pepper over the outside and brushed it with butter. Or perhaps she brushed it with butter and then sprinkled salt and pepper over it; anyway after that she put the bird in the oven and went on to something else.

We always had turkey for Thanksgiving. The menu consisted of turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes, gravy, creamed corn, candied sweet potatoes, pumpkin pie, apple pie and mince pie. When the turkey was done we all sit down at the table and Grandpa Newland would give thanks.

Grandpa never said a long prayer of thanks. It always thanked God for the blessing we received that year, that everyone was well and ended the prayer with Amen.