This was a very interesting Thanksgiving. For me, it was my first time back since my parents got a divorce a couple of months ago. Now I know how the majority of Americans feel-- shuffling back and forth between parents for the holidays. After 30 years of marriage, my parents finally decided that they couldn't live together anymore. And although I do agree with the decision, it is difficult to come to terms with the fact that their marriage is finished. They have never gotten along and their marriage has been very tumultuous; there were separations and reconciliations and divorce was always just over the horizon. I wish that things could be different between them, it was discouraging to see my mom at the age of 50 trying to raise 4 children on her own and it was difficult to see my dad's house so... empty.There is a lot more to the circumstances around their divorce that I won't go into, but suffice it to say that for the most part, us kids were relieved at the split.
On a more positive note, I've got to record what my mom made for Thanksgiving dinner...
Turkey
Stuffing
Mashed Potatoes
Gravy
Lima Beans
Butter Beans
Pasta Salad
Collards (not from the can!)
2 Baked Chickens
Beef Ribs
Puerto Rican Rice
Candied Yams
Corn on the Cob
Rolls
Fried Cornbread Fritters
Cranberry Sauce
Banana Pudding
Almost Heaven Cake
Peach Pie
Pumpkin Pie
Punch
...And she was upset because she forgot the fried okra! My mom cooked all of this food on her own, and with four kids underfoot to boot! Every year I try to persuade her not to make so much but she pays no heed. I don't know if it's just a Southern thing to have so much variety or if it's unique to my family? Anyway, after she gets done slaving over all of this food, she slaves over the kitchen and then she is completely wiped out and I feel bad for her. I wish she'd delegate some of these duties to me and my two adult sisters. Maybe she doesn't like our cooking?
Anyhow, everything was DEELICIOUS! I never get Southern cooking out here in the wild west so I'm always anxious for collards and fried cornbread fritters whenever I come home. There really is no place like home!
On a more positive note, I've got to record what my mom made for Thanksgiving dinner...
Turkey
Stuffing
Mashed Potatoes
Gravy
Lima Beans
Butter Beans
Pasta Salad
Collards (not from the can!)
2 Baked Chickens
Beef Ribs
Puerto Rican Rice
Candied Yams
Corn on the Cob
Rolls
Fried Cornbread Fritters
Cranberry Sauce
Banana Pudding
Almost Heaven Cake
Peach Pie
Pumpkin Pie
Punch
...And she was upset because she forgot the fried okra! My mom cooked all of this food on her own, and with four kids underfoot to boot! Every year I try to persuade her not to make so much but she pays no heed. I don't know if it's just a Southern thing to have so much variety or if it's unique to my family? Anyway, after she gets done slaving over all of this food, she slaves over the kitchen and then she is completely wiped out and I feel bad for her. I wish she'd delegate some of these duties to me and my two adult sisters. Maybe she doesn't like our cooking?
Anyhow, everything was DEELICIOUS! I never get Southern cooking out here in the wild west so I'm always anxious for collards and fried cornbread fritters whenever I come home. There really is no place like home!
*Photo taken from JupiterImages.com
2 comments:
Wow, what a whirlwind of emotions you must have experienced! My heart goes out to you and all the family involved. Divorce is never easy, no matter when it comes, but horrible marriages are not easy either. My sister and her husband split after about 18 years of marriage, and I see how that has affected/is affecting her and their children. Never easy...
Your mom must be an absolutely amazing woman! You must have gotten her genes with all the beautiful entertaining you do. :)
No, you are right, it was a whirlwind of emotions. Relief, then disbelief, then regret that things couldn't have been different. However, my mom is a very strong woman. So far she has lived through an abusive (to his wife only) and alcoholic father, grown up in abject poverty, her father walking out on her mother and then her mother's subsequent death, her 20 something year old brother's death in an automobile accident, the death of her baby, and now the divorce. Still she is not bitter and loves God with all of her heart. Hopefully, I've gotten some of her strength as well.
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