the work of Thanksgiving

I love this photo of my grandmother, for it is how I remember her most.  Seems like when I am in the kitchen on Thanksgiving Day, I often think of the women who have gone before me: particularly my mother, and this, my paternal grandmother. I always try to do so much ahead of time, but by the end of the day, it's just plain exhausting. Then I say, "Was it worth it all?"  Funny, I never heard either of them ask that, nor did I ever think they were particularly tired at the end of the day. They probably kept those thoughts to themselves. I figure in this picture my grandmother is not too much older than I am now, they just looked like old ladies a lot earlier in life back then (!!)

I do remember hers and my mom's perfectly gorgeous and delicious Thanksgiving dinners. I hope my kids will have some similar memories too. We did have a good day yesterday, and Spouse said how wonderful it all was for all of us. A new family member, under 6 months, just added to the flavors of the day!

Note: I love this photo because I can remember all the details of my grandmother's kitchen and if I enlarge this I see many familiar things.  Most of my memories of grandmother were of her in this kitchen. While this is a happy photo to me, if you look into her eyes you see sadness. My mother tells me that she had just gotten the news from the doctor (who made a house call) that grandfather was not doing well and probably would not live much longer.  We carry some of the innocent moments of childhood into our adult lives.