Thanksgiving In All Things

Susan Reichert

For everyone all over the world this is a most unusual Thanksgiving.

Most of us will not get to have our Thanksgiving meal with our loved ones, because we are all trying to stay distanced for fear of either getting the COVID virus or spreading it. We are all feeling isolated, after all it has been going on since March.

Never in all my years did I dream or think something like this could happen. And to be honest I resent this COVID coming into our lives and separating us from our loved ones.

Thanksgiving has always been a special time in my family. . . getting together, sharing food, laughing, and sharing birthdays. (One of us has a birthday on the 11th, my mother's was on the 19th and one has one on the 25th).

As I started thinking what to write on this day for Suite T, I started listing things I could be thankful for. These began to replace the sadness with joy as I remembered days of long ago. When I was a child, Thanksgiving included my grandparents, some great aunts and uncles and cousins, too many to mention. This was a long time ago (I am 76 now).

The aroma of food fixings coming from the kitchen; seeing the pies and cakes being set out made our mouth water and our eyes pop open, there were so many. We had apple, pecan, lemon chess, cherry, pumpkin, sweet potato, chocolate cream, and coconut cream. Even now as I am writing about them my mouth is watering, and I am getting hungry.

Now the cakes–– my goodness, we had coconut cake, German chocolate, pumpkin spice, caramel, carrot, sour cream pumpkin with spiced streusel, and lemon pound cake, and chocolate Bundt. Oh, and let us not forget the fruit cakes, both light and dark.

A lot of food had to be made to serve all the family and kin. There was a beautiful browned (huge) turkey, sugar glazed ham, lots of dressing, gravy, cranberries, and mashed potatoes. Added to those were candied yams, green beans, fried corn, squash, macaroni and cheese, butter beans, and field peas. We had congealed salads like cranberry-orange with walnuts, and lime, cream cheese, pineapple and pecans––all sorts in different shapes and ingredients. We had fruit salads, deviled eggs, and homemade rolls.

You can see why, when I finished remembering my childhood thanksgivings I was full of joy.

Even though we want sit down at my table with family today, we will choose a date that is safe in the future and celebrate when COVID has passed. Fortunately, we can talk to our families and even use Facetime and Zoom.

So, to each of you and your loved ones, Suite T and I would like to wish all of you and your loved ones a Happy day today asking you to remember, this too shall pass! 

Retired from Editor-in-Chief of Southern Writers Magazine.

Director of Southern Author Services and Suite T.

Susan and her family live in Tennessee. She and her husband have three grown children living in Tennessee and one in Colorado.

Susan is the author of God's Prayer Power and Storms in Life.