I love this time of year. I remember my mother and my two grandmothers preparing the food for our Thanksgiving dinner. The table would be set for 12 with my mother's best china. It was white with an aqua and silver design on each plate. Her wedding sliver laid out in proper order next to each person's place at the table.
I saw that aqua china for the last time when i was at my dad's this past summer. I can't even remember if one of my sisters boxed it up for themselves or if it stayed with the house or went to Goodwill. The week spent closing up my father's house is already blurred in my memory which surprises me a little. Why didn't i take that china for myself? At the time nothing like that seemed to matter much. The magnitude of my father's death washed out the value in what seemed to be small details. Now as i contemplate giving thanks this year i wish i had my mother's china to look at so that i could remember more vividly the days of being a young child watching the creation of the Thanksgiving dinner with great anticipation. I loved mashed potatoes and my grandmother's gravy best :)
If i had the power to send real blessings i would send them to you. But i don't have that power. I am sending instead good wishes and prayers which i do have the power to give.
If you were here at my house i would cook you a magnificent dinner while you sat in the living room, across from the kitchen where i I could see you. I would be standing at the counter facing you while i worked, listening to you chat about the good, the best, the simple things in your lives You would offer to help several times over and i would shoo you away knowing what it means to be given the small gift of having dinner cooked for you. You know how good food tastes when someone else does the cooking right?
I would serve you the best pumpkin pie you ever ate and would make up little food packages of leftovers for you to take home. I would say farewell at the front door, one person at a time, giving hugs, making plans to see one another soon, finally waving to the last car as it pulls out of the drive.
The house would be almost quiet, holding the merest echo of the laughter and words that were shared this night. It would still be warm and cozy with the fire burning in the grate. I would sit finally and feel the success of the evening. You all felt loved. You each one took away a refreshed feeling of hope and gratitude for another year. I know that is how it would go because i know how you all are. You are caring and fun. You are intelligent and conscious of your place in the world. You are the most extraordinary people. Friends, neighbors, bloggers, writers, artists. I am so blessed to have found you all!
love, robin
p.s. if i could i would take you on a walk along this lane. We would feel the chill wind blow through our scarves and hats and each time we stepped out from beneath the towering trees we would turn our faces upward, eyes closed and comment on the warmth that remains from the sun. It would be a glorious walk to take with you :)
