All the Thanksgiving!

I have no childhood memories of Thanksgiving. I assume we must have had Thanksgiving. I know about Green Bean Casserole, yams with marshmallows, and jellied cranberry sauce. I have memories of putting olives on my fingers.

The first Thanksgiving I really remember is from when I was in my 20's. That year it snowed right before Thanksgiving. My roommates and I walked to the store to get the food for the feast. As we walked home, Chris, who was carrying the frozen turkey in a roasting pan, stopped and set the pan on top of a fire hydrant. She said, "Well, it could be worse, it could be raining". Sally, my other roommate and I laughed and I think I said "If it was raining, we could have driven to the store". We all started laughing and Chris said, "This is it, this is as bad as it gets."

Fifteen years ago, Mr R and I started having Thanksgiving at the Blue House. It was a way for friends without family nearby to get together and have Thanksgiving. Some folks from that first Thanksgiving have come every year since. Now I have lots of wonderful Thanksgiving memories.

Last year, I had to cancel Thanksgiving at the Blue House. I spent half of Thanksgiving Day in the Critical Care Unit. In the afternoon, I was moved out of CCU to the Cardiac Telemetry Unit. There was much to be grateful for that day - Mr R, friends, family, the nurses, recovering from surgery.

This year, there will be Thanksgiving at the Blue House again. I want all the Thanksgiving - turkey, cranberry sauce, yams, mashed potatoes, pie. I want friends around the table again.

But first I need to clean the house.