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| Sweet potato casserole, ready to top and bake |
This year, I have a lot of help from my daughters for which to be thankful. The two of them are preparing a large part of Thursday's meal, then helping me with Friday's meal. In addition to all of their help, I'm preparing casseroles and sides today and tomorrow, to be baked at the last minute on Thursday or Friday.
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| this gooeyness is a praline topping for the sweet potato casserole -- brown sugar, butter, chopped pecans |
The Thanksgiving dishes and glasses are now on the table. I like getting all of this done as early as I can.
I've also been cleaning over the past 10 days, leaving little sticky notes throughout the house, indicating those areas are off-limits as they've been cleaned. No sense burning out before we even sit down to eat on Thursday or Friday.
Of course, to compensate for this time spent preparing, our meals this week have been significantly simplified, as in we're having pancakes for dinner tonight.
Throughout the week, I've been thinking about my gratitude list. Here is what I've come up with so far. I'm thankful for heated homes as commonplace, not just for the elite. I'm thankful for indoor plumbing. When I was out in the garden this afternoon, my fingers froze as I was cutting stems of kale. I can only imagine what going outdoors for the facilities several times per day in bad weather must've been like. I'm thankful for phones so I can hear the voices of people I care about but cannot see. And I'm thankful for the 55 cent postage stamp and 50 cent greeting cards from Dollar Tree, so I can send my love in a keep-able form to someone dear to me but nowhere near to me. I'm thankful for tears, because they mean that I care, and my heart has not hardened. I'm thankful for good jokes because laughter will pick me up on the downest days. I'm thankful for sugar and spice. I cannot imagine pumpkin pie without some sugar and a bit of spice. But most of all, I am thankful for those who love me and I can love back. Love without a place to put it is grief. I'm thankful for less grief and more love in my life.
So, how are you plans for the holiday coming? What are you thankful for this year?
Wishing those of you in the USA a very happy Thanksgiving. And if you're not in the US, I'm sure you still have much for which to be thankful.
