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What really makes Thanksgiving special

Karen Wils My mom, Lu Rose, sits surrounded by grandkids and grand-nieces that came for Thanksgiving in 2006.

ESCANABA — All this time, I thought a good Thanksgiving had to do with how golden brown the turkey was when it came out of the oven.

A perfect Thanksgiving was measured by pies, pumpkin, apple and cherry.

A good Thanksgiving meant plenty of sweet squash and robust rutabagas.

Gravy as smooth as silk and fresh cranberry relish topped off the day.

Now I stand corrected. I was mistaken. COVID-19 has taught us differently. Thanksgiving has nothing to do with what food is on the table and everything to do with who is in the chairs around the table.

Yes, we might vaguely recall the wonderful turkey dressing and the harvest table decorations, but the folks in the chairs make Thanksgivings unforgettable.

I am one of those lucky people who got to grow up with a blended family. My mother’s parents both died in 1948 when Mom was only 18. She kept her eight younger siblings together and they helped raise each other.

In the meantime she met and married Dad and started a family of their own. I shared a bedroom with my aunt Sandy longer than I shared one with my sister Lori.

The aunts and uncles grew up, got married and came to our house for Thanksgiving.

For many years, Mom roasted the turkey and made the stuffing and gravy. Each aunt showed up with a side dish. Everyone had their specialty to bring: baked corn, homemade bread and layered salad, to name a few.

As I look back on it now, the most important thing my aunts and uncles would bring were cousins.

Dozens of cousins colored Thanksgiving decorations, played football, sipped punch and laughed together.

Thanksgiving has long been my favorite holiday because it seems so much less labor intensive than Christmas or Easter. No gifts to wrap, baskets to hide, tree to trim or eggs to color — Thanksgiving was all about a meal and people around the tables.

My dad and brother and uncles that deer hunt took the evening off and came home for Thanksgiving supper.

It was great to listen to all their camp stories.

At Thanksgiving in the “olden days” we always had a “little kids table.” Even though this table was always the messiest, it was the most photographed.

After the feast, the fun didn’t end. Oddly enough, clean up time was interesting too. Doing dishes and laughing with the ladies as they reminisced about their teenage years was a riot.

COVID-19 may have made our Thanksgiving smaller, but no matter if there are two or two dozen around the table, the true meaning of holiday still shines.

It is about appreciating all of our material things, but most of all it’s about being grateful for each other.

——

Karen (Rose) Wils is a lifelong north Escanaba resident. Her folksy columns appear weekly in Lifestyles.

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