The Big Sandy Mountaineer -

Thanksgiving is just around the corner and for many it is the time to head to Grandmother’s house or Aunt Margie’s house or invite a dozen people to your own house.

I can remember when I was a small child around eight or so, I got a new sister and we always wanted to stay home for Christmas. Our parents were very generous as was Santa and there was a lot to play with on Christmas Day,

So, we would put up a fuss if we had to go somewhere on that day of all days. We wanted our turkey dinner but we wanted it at home.

Can you imagine us kids telling our parents all this? Well, it usually worked because our parents were sort of weak kneed and after fighting with themselves, did not want to fight with us kids as well.

That meant that Thanksgiving was our day to travel and travel we did. Typically our phone line was hot just before Thanksgiving with invitations to eat Thanksgiving dinner and what to bring and what time it was going to be.

The best Thanksgiving day I ever did have was given by my aunt Jan who would invite us for turkey dinner around noon. Then we would go back home and back to Jan’s house we would go around 5 or 6pm to feast a second time on dressing and mashed potatoes and gravy. The best of that meal were turkey sandwiches piled high with white meat and cranberries. What a feast!

Then there was the Thanksgiving that was the straw that finally broke the camel’s back. We were invited to three homes for Thanksgiving dinner and we went to all three if you can believe that!

It was a given that at noon there would be Thanksgiving served at grandma Lucke’s house and it was a given that we had better be there. This particular Thanksgiving day, my other grandmother, grandma Stuart invited us to her house for Thanksgiving afternoon. If that was not enough, my aunt Margie invited us for an evening Thanksgiving meal at her home in Gildford.

My parents were weak kneed enough to go to all three.

I remember coming home that night from Gildford and having to stop the car to be sick in the middle of the highway.

A great lesson was learned that day. Don’t do three Thanksgiving dinners ever again on one day.

That was a lesson none of us ever forgot!