Lots of things come to mind when I think of Thanksgiving…shopping early enough to get the biggest turkey I can find, deciding just how much wine is ENOUGH wine and “Where is everyone going to sit???” 

Sitting is an issue!  It especially was an issue as I was growing up.  Thanksgiving dinner included 8-10 adults and 12-18 kids…depending on which families showed up  for Grandma’s Feast! And it WAS a FEAST! I’ve yet to make a turkey taste like my Grandma did…same with apple pies…how did she do that?

Sorry, I got sidetracked by remembering the smell of her kitchen. Anyways, back to seating.

I never was old enough to eat at the “Adult” table, the big round table in the dining room where all the family secrets were told.  Instead, my cousins and I were banished to the “kids” tables…card tables set up in the living room.  We were told each year… “You aren’t old enough to eat at the big table”…and we would feel bad for about…6 seconds!

Actually eating at the “Kids” table wasn’t a bad deal at all. No one yelled at us about our manners…we could laugh an giggle and put our elbows on the table. Grandma was always thoughtful enough that each card table had it’s own salt, pepper, gravy and even butter so we didn’t have to keep getting up. I remember a couple years we each had little turkey candles at our seats which were very cool and made us seem almost grown up…after all, she was trusting us with fire at our own table! And we kids had plenty of our own secrets that we told at those tables.  No, I can’t repeat those secrets…if I told you I’d have to kill you…Sorry…Family Rules!

The  Thanksgivings that my children have experienced have been very different than what I experienced.  For one thing, my mashed potatoes are lumpy! No relatives close by, so no need for the”Adult” table and the “Kids” table. But Traditions are very funny things. I often think they missed out on a lot!  But from their perspective our family Thanksgiving’s were perfect!

They kind of freaked out a few years ago when we decided to combine Thanksgiving dinner with our best friends’.  HUH?  WHY? Who knew that MY lumpy mashed potatoes were that important?  What if they don’t put sausage in their stuffing?What about the gravy????  MOM HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO US???

No need to be concerned about the potential emotional abuse I almost inflicted on my family. The kids in the other family freaked too!  So it was very easy to fix.  We EACH made our own turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, biscuits, veggies and even pies.  The kids had a great time deciding who made the best…whatever…! It shouldn’t surprise you to know it was a tie…my kids voted for my turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, biscuits, veggies and pies…and those other bratty kids voted for their own mom’s stuff….as it should be!

We joked at that Thanksgiving dinner about making the “kids” eat in the kitchen so that the adults could enjoy a quiet meal in the dining room.  I had a major flashback!  Told them the story of how we did it at their Great-Grandma’s house when I was growing up. Maybe the kids would love the idea, like we did as children? Then it hit me… I didn’t want them eating in the kitchen, they were supposed to be sitting right there with me…bumping elbows and commenting on my lumpy potatoes. Luckily, they hated the idea as well.

I guess I will NEVER be old enough to eat at the “Adult” table.

Traditions are funny things.  They do change over the years.