Thanksgiving at a Glance

With achy feet and tired backs from all the cooking and baking, we exhale a sigh of relief and fall on the sofa. Thanksgiving Day is over, and we have a slight reprieve before another festive family gathering takes place. Take a look at the behind-the-scenes work goes into making these holidays extra special.

• We sort through recipes for those festive dishes only prepared during the holidays.
• Make a grocery list, a long list, of all the ingredients needed to make each one.
• The grocery store is like a major highway with no traffic lights. Long lines at the cash register wear on our bodies, but, it’s only just begun.
  1. Depending on your store, you select your groceries and drop them in the basket.
  2. At the register, those items must be removed from the basket and placed on the conveyor belt.
  3. The employee rings up each piece and places our food in bags where we must shuffle them back to our basket.
  4. We hike to our vehicles and handle each bag again as we place them in the car. Then, return the basket to the assigned basket docking station.
  5. Before arriving home, we guzzle a bottle of water or coke. Time to fuel ourselves because we know the first phase of preparation is almost over, but not yet.
  6. Next, we arrive home, and it’s time to unload the car. We huff and puff with each trip inside and dare ourselves to sit for a moment.
  7. Grocery bags take over the kitchen like a busted feather pillow sitting in front of a fan. Now we must pick up each feather, or rather, empty the sacks and divide our purchases into stacks that go with the appropriate recipe.
• One-by-one we complete each appetizer, casserole, dessert, candy, and beverage, all while basting a turkey or preparing a ham.
• A beautiful Thanksgiving tablecloth adds to the festive occasion while family trickles in and helps set plates, glasses, and silverware on the table.
• Someone prays over the meal, and everyone indulges in our tasty, fresh-baked delicacies. Beautiful and thankful!
• Then there’s clean-up, but we won’t go there!

Yes, planning and preparing for the Thanksgiving feast takes a lot of time and effort, but it’s worth every minute. Besides, it’s more than the work and the food. We do it because we love our family and friends; we share our food, homes, and lives, we give thanks for God’s unconditional love and pray the spirit of thankfulness and giving will extend beyond the celebrated days.

“Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever (I Chronicles 16:34).”

Even though Thanksgiving Day is behind us and the last bits of turkey made its way onto a sandwich, the spirit of the season remains. Grocery stores reload their shelves, while we select new recipes and take a breather before gearing up for the Christmas Season.

Are you thankful? Do the holidays rekindle your giving spirit?

Loretta