A Month of Thankfulness - November 24

 My mother-in-law.

I am SO thankful for her.

She welcomed me with open arms to the family in 1975.  

I remember going to a Lions Club dinner, and we had to take a side dish.  I made one of the few things I could do quickly and know that it would turn out halfway decent ----a Jell-O Cherry Cheesecake. I put it together the night before in a dish and it looked good.  Gary picked me up and took me to his folks' house.  We were going to ride to the Lions Club Building with them.   As I stood there with my cherry cheesecake, she came out of the house with a roll of Saran Wrap and tore off a piece to cover my dish.  I hadn't done that.  She didn't say anything about it; she just did it.  She looked at me and smiled, then returned to the house with the roll of Saran Wrap.  I appreciated that she helped me, that she didn't embarrass me, and that she gently taught me a lesson that I have held dear since then.

I never said anything about that until a couple of years ago to Gary, and he didn't even remember it happening.  But I did.  Just  gentle help for the rookie, the 3rd year school teacher who was falling in love with her son.

When I left West Central and went to Ivy Tech, many things changed.  One of those was having nearly the entire week of Thanksgiving off!  I was thrilled since Thanksgiving has always been my favorite holiday.  Classes were held on Monday, but the rest of the week was free for Thanksgiving Break.  Since that first semester I didn't have any classes on Monday, that gave me a nice long break if you counted the weekend before and the weekend after.  Piece of cake!

After Gary and I talked about it, I offered to host the Siemens Family Thanksgiving at our house.  Before I could even finish the question "Since I have so much time off for Thanksgiving, would you like for us to host Thanksgiving this year?" she said "YES!"  And so the new tradition began.

From Thanksgiving 2006 to now we have hosted the family dinner with a few exceptions.

Thanksgiving 2012 we were at Disney World.  It was a celebration for Landon, and Hilary and Blaine wanted to go before he turned 3 and they had to buy a ticket for him.  It was such a fun time, so magical, and I will never forget some of the moments during that trip.  Landon took the hand of Mickey Mouse and walked back to the photo spot with him, just like they were best friends.  There was a City Walk of sorts at MGM Studios and it was decorated for Christmas.  As we were walking down the street, looking in the shop windows, Christmas carols were playing and suddenly snow began to drift down from the sky.  Quite an experience when we were wearing shorts and light jackets! But it was beautiful! I remember staying with Landon at the resort while Hilary and Blaine did some Black Friday shopping on International Drive.   I don't really remember what we did for Thanksgiving dinner that year, but I am sure we didn't have turkey and dressing. Or even pumpkin pie.

Thanksgiving 2015 was another time when we didn't host.  I had been sick that fall.  I remember teaching at Rochester on the Wednesday of the week before Thanksgiving and feeling sick.  Then on that Monday I was teaching and just couldn't so Valerie took over for me and Gloria told me to go home.  I remember calling Amy and telling her how sick I was.  Gary took me to Urgent Care where I was diagnosed with pneumonia.   I remember protesting and telling the doctor that we were hosting Thanksgiving in a few days.  He laughed and told me that someone else was going to have to take over because there would be no dinner at my house that year.  So it moved back to Agnes, but Gary took the turkey and she roasted it there.  

Finally Thanksgiving 2016.  Leo had died on March 31 that year and even though she fought a good fight, Agnes lost her battle with bladder cancer on November 10.  For Thanksgiving we decided to have one last big family dinner at The Farm.  We moved everything over there.  Mike, Angie, and Nick stayed there.   We cooked everything and carried it in.  It was a sad holiday, but it was one full of memories and thankfulness.

Thanksgiving 2017 saw us back at the farm in Pulaski and Greta and Kent joined us since Mom had died as well in May.   Little did we know at the time that it would be our last Thanksgiving there.   Gary and I had been thinking about looking for a house closer to the girls, but we hadn't said anything to them yet.  

Thanksgivings 2018 and 2019 were in the new house outside of Colburn.  One of my requirements for the new house was a dining room and kitchen large enough to host the Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve celebrations.  Another was that we would have room for Mike, Angie, and Nick to stay with us as well.  This house met everything that we wanted.  The last two years have been so much fun with hosting the family holidays and enjoying all of the space we had.

Then this year.  COVID hit us.  Testing positive for the virus put a definite kink in the Thanksgiving holiday plans.  While I am very disappointed, I am thankful that we don't have to find the energy to properly prepare food and host the 23 people who would be here through the day.   Instead Gary and I ordered a meal from Bob Evans.  I made Grandma Greta's cranberry salad this afternoon.   I am looking forward to just a quiet day, watching the Macy's Parade, and relaxing instead of spending so much time in the kitchen.

 But honestly...I am missing it.  I should have my list of things to do and be working on food preparation.  The turkey should be ready for the brine tomorrow.  I should have a couple of pies ready for the oven.  The floor in the kitchen/dining room should have been mopped and a fresh coat of wax applied.   I did wash windows and the curtains before I became sick!  

I am thankful to Agnes for letting me host the Siemens Family Thanksgiving starting in 2006.  She was a wonderful example of being the matriarch of the family and knowing how to help her daughter-in-law feel like she was truly a part of the family.