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I remember
many events, people and places
When Thanksgiving
comes to mind
There
were Grandma and Grandpa
Mother
and Dad sorting from the harvest
The very
best in quality of every kind.
Aunt Mem,
Mother's sister, pitched in
Bringing
some of her treasures prepared
From
that she had grown in her garden
And berries
picked from surrounding fields
Of the
98 acre farm land that I often
roamed.
The center of activity was
the large farmhouse kitchen
Its hand crafted, wooden table
could easily seat 12
The black, iron cook stove
was at the end of the room
A homemade chest with handy
hinged lids over twin bins
Stood ready to measure up
flour and meal for the day's
bread.
A white dish cabinet with
drawers for table linens below,
And above, shelves behind clear
glass paned doors stored
One special set of china -
white plates with gold edges
And pink roses in the center,
matching cups, saucers and bowls
Always ready for Sunday dinners
and special meals with friends.
The men and boys did whatever
the women asked
Glad to have any little bit
of work to do
Crops were laid by, morning
milking was done
Hay had been thrown from the
barn loft
Not much else to do except
sit and talk.
First one visitor, then another,
then family
Passed through the kitchen
and oft' sat a spell
The work of the cooks never
stopped
No way to store things to
keep them cool
All of it had to come together
all at once.
After an hour or two, the
window behind the stove was
raised
To temper the moist, smoky,
hot air from pots boiling
Wood burning to heat the stove
and to bring in cool, drier
air
Feed sack curtains fluttered
with bright happy patterns in
color.
A loving, warm picture formed
in our mindıs album like no
other.
The spring
and summer farming had left
little time
For catching
up on family happenings, the
health
And lives
of dear old friends and neighbors
and what fun
To have
retold almost as jokes the funny
spots
Into
which some of us had gotten
ourselves.
By the time
for our Thanksgiving feast
The conversation
had been distilled
To pour out
in a steady stream of "Did you
knows ...?"
And, "Did you
hear abouts ...?" so everyone
would know
The latest news from all around,
as all chimed in.
Lots of laughter,
chatter and a few tears filled
those hours
What an inheritance
it has been for me and my kin
To go back
in memory to live all of it
again and again
Where Thanksgiving
was not so much a place on the
map
But a place
located forever, deep within
one's heart.
Copyright
© Marjorie November 6,
2009
All
Rights Reserved - Used By Permission
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