I know I am late writing about my Thanksgiving day, but I felt stuffed from all the food I ate.

No, that is not a picture of my family. Although, it could be. My family is a melting pot of integration, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. There is Italian, white, Hispanic, black, native American, and Portuguese. I love all nationalities of my family. I selected the picture because I wanted to give you a visual to remind you and me of what it is like to gather together for Thanksgiving.

I cooked for Thanksgiving like I do every year. I cooked a turkey, ham, dressing, mixed vegetables, gravy, and a cake. My grandson had brought over an apple pie, and I had purchased vanilla and chocolate ice cream and a pecan pie. I also had egg nog and wine.

I planned to spend the day alone with my food, reading a good romance, and watching Christmas movies. My grandson and his girlfriend asked me to go with them to her parents for Thanksgiving dinner. It took some talking to get him to realize I wanted to be alone.

You would think after all these years, my children would know, understand, and accept that I need alone time occasionally. Ever since I was eight or nine, I have taken care of someone. So, I grab at any alone time I can get.

I intended to take pictures of the food, but unexpected guests interrupted me, and all thoughts of pictures went out the window. I enjoyed my company. My baby son has two girlfriends. They know about each other, and because my son could not be there, they got together and came to keep me company.

In case you are wondering how this works for them, let me explain. The ladies know he is not good relationship material, and I guess he is a friend with benefits, and they do not seem to mind him splitting his time between them.

They didn’t want me to be alone, and I guess they didn’t want to be alone either, so they came by and spent the afternoon and evening with me. Good thing! It cut down on the amount of food I had leftover.

I missed the alone time, but I had fun with the girls. They were good company, and we had a wonderful time enjoying the food.

The only thing missing was potato salad, macaroni, and cheese, and collard greens. I didn’t cook rolls because I am cutting down on white bread. No cornbread because I had cornbread dressing. I left the other items off the menu because it would only be me eating, and even for me, that would have been a little too much.

I had a wonderful Thanksgiving, and I sure hope you did too. Although I missed the alone time to read and watch my Christmas stories without conversation, it was still a lovely day, and I am glad I cooked. Thanksgiving and Christmas are my favorite times to cook because it is my way of showing my family how much I love them and just how much they mean to me even when they are not home.

It brings back memories of getting up early before everyone wakes up, putting the turkey in the oven, and preparing breakfast for everyone. I won’t tell you about Christmas until Christmas time. For Thanksgiving, it was pancakes, bacon, eggs, and cocoa for the kids.

After breakfast, the kids would watch cartoons until they heard their friends playing outside, then they would beg to go out. My husband always used holidays to sleep in late except for Christmas.

When he got up, the house smelled of turkey and Thanksgiving. At dinner time, which was usually about two or three in the afternoon, because we couldn’t wait any longer, we would say what we were thankful for and say a prayer, then it was off to the races to enjoy dinner.

I miss those times, but I have my memories, and I can see in my mind’s eye very vividly those events and smell the food as if I were there at that time. I am grateful I have my memories.

Build memories with your families, and enjoy your time together. Until next time, stay safe, and keep the faith.