With Thanks and Gratitude: Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving marks the beginning of fall and is often considered the fall harvest. It’s a time where we step back and reflect on all that we have and all that we are grateful for.  For me, I am grateful for family: a loving partner, three kind, considerate and responsible adult children and their partners. I am grateful for friends: the family we choose for ourselves. I am grateful for the day to day comforts we are afforded: a home, plentiful food, financial stability and health.

One of my favorite Thanksgiving memories is the first year we spent in Victoria as a military family away from our extended love ones. It was the first real holiday we were celebrating in our new home as we had travelled to BC and moved into our PMQ that summer.  Our first holiday in our new world. Even though they didn’t say, I knew the kids were sad to be away from everyone and everything they were accustomed to, so I tried very hard to make it a special day with a meal of everything they liked.  I vividly recall that when we sat down to eat, my eldest burst into tears. When I asked what was wrong (assuming she was just missing everything left behind) she said she was just so happy to see all of the foods she loved.  It was true gratitude.  

My Thanksgiving meal is a traditional one that pretty much repeats year to year — why mess with what works and everyone likes, right?  It consists of turkey, home made stuffing, lumpy potatoes with gravy, and usually some form of a root vegetable representing fall and the harvest. This year, I went with a platter of roasted root vegies consisting of white turnip, beets, carrots, yams, parsnips, quartered red and white onions and Russian garlic.  As this was the first time I was also cooking for a vegetarian lifestyle, our meal included a cauliflower gratin and a black bean salad (just to be sure there was enough food!).   And of course, the best part of this traditional feast includes dessert (usually pie).  2023 gave us hand made baked apple and pumpkin pies, with spiced rum whip cream. Absolutely out of this world. She did good!

I hope that however you celebrate Thanksgiving that you are surrounded by loved ones and are able to take a small moment to give thanks for all the things you have in your life.  I am grateful on this day (and every day) and recognize the blessing in my life and thank God for each and every one of them.

Happy Thanksgiving!.