A Different Kind of Thanksgiving!
Trenton, Ryan, Shawn, Jacob, Madison, Daisha, Michael, Brandon, and Zoe, the younger grandchildren, all waited patiently for the Thanksgiving celebration; they knew that on Thanksgiving was when the decisions were made about who was getting presents for whom. And boy were they excited! They all loved going to Mam-maw's house...Ya know, over the river and thru the woods....it was always fun with everybody all together, and the silly stories Pappy told along with the uncles putting in their two cents. Oh and the wrestling that always gets Mam-maw upset! We have to be careful with that, they each thought, we don't want anybody getting hurt.
But what the little guys didn't know was that Mam-maw and Pappy had something else in mind....They had decided to have a little camp out day. Instead of being in the house all day as they frequently were, why not spend the day outside. The house was neat and ready to go though, just in case of inclement weather.
Ring, Ring...oh Mommy's phone is ringing said Jacob.
Well it turns out that today is the day but we are supposed to dress different than we usually do...Hmmm, what's going on thought Jacob?
Ring, Ring...uh-oh Mom's phone is ringing said Daisha...turns out it's Mam-maw, she wants us to dress in warm clothes, instead of what we usually wear. Oh phooey thought Daisha and Zoe, the boys won’t care, but we wanted to wear dresses ...Phooey, phooey, phooey.
And the same story ensued at Ryan's and Madison's. Trenton, he didn't care. He just liked going to the farm.
Meanwhile the matriarch and the patriarch of the family were getting things ready for the day. Oh this was going to be so much fun! They were just about as excited as the children. Maw had cooking and baking to do. There were sweet potatoes to peel and bake with brown sugar and butter, oh and white potatoes; Great Maw was going to bring those and oatmeal cookies with the cranberries instead of raisins. And the pumpkin pies and apple pies with the brown sugar crumbs on top were already baking. Oh the food will be so good. Pappy was out in the shed working on the big potato chip can that they were going to use to bake the turkey in over the wood fire. And as every moment passed Pap was getting more, and more excited, too.
Pap, after getting the chip can ready to go decided that he had better get started on the wood for the fire, after all we were pretending to be Pilgrims today, even though we had plastic plates and regular silver ware, we were going to be sitting at a table made from slabs of wood and sitting on stumps. I really think that the Grandchildren are going to have a new appreciation of what the pilgrims may have had to deal with by having this experience, Pap thought.
Maw was busy in the kitchen, and she was thinking about the day ahead, I am glad as the dickens that it's not really cold today so, Baby Levi will be able to be out with us, at least for a little while.
Well Ruth was done with her shower and getting ready and came out to the kitchen were Mom was.
Mom asked her if she would please go to Pap Tim and get the chip can, so that as soon as the fire had some good embers we would be able to get the turkey started.
Ruth soon came back with chip can in her hand and thinking how in the world are we going to cook a turkey inside a chip can....What she didn't know was that Mom had already done this once before, a long, long, long time ago.
Mom must have seen the perplexed look on Ruthee's face and she told Ruthee, "don't worry, it will work!" Mom then asked Ruth to take the lid off the can, and inside the can was a little rack for the turkey to sit on. And there were several vent holes in the top to let steam out as the turkey cooked. Maw put the turkey on the rack that was now on the inside of the can and put the lid back on. Maw looked out the kitchen window to see how the fire was doing and Pap seemed to have it going pretty well.
Ruthee was thinking, I can’t wait to eat, it’s been awhile since I’ve had Mom’s home cooking, and it will be so good. Just then there was a knock at the door…knock, knock, knock. There were Great Maw and Great Pap and Grand-maw Chris. Everyone greeted everyone else and they all agreed that this was going to be fun and that the children will probably learn from the experience.
Mom must have seen the perplexed look on Ruthee's face and she told Ruthee, "don't worry, it will work!" Mom then asked Ruth to take the lid off the can, and inside the can was a little rack for the turkey to sit on. And there were several vent holes in the top to let steam out as the turkey cooked. Maw put the turkey on the rack that was now on the inside of the can and put the lid back on. Maw looked out the kitchen window to see how the fire was doing and Pap seemed to have it going pretty well.
Ruthee was thinking, I can’t wait to eat, it’s been awhile since I’ve had Mom’s home cooking, and it will be so good. Just then there was a knock at the door…knock, knock, knock. There were Great Maw and Great Pap and Grand-maw Chris. Everyone greeted everyone else and they all agreed that this was going to be fun and that the children will probably learn from the experience.
Since everyone was dressed in warm clothes they went outside with some of the food that didn’t need to stay warm, like the celery and carrots and the pies and a big jug of milk and a jug of ice tea for the grown-ups. And Maw took the chip can out to put on the coals that Pap had raked to the side for just this purpose.
Pap and Great Pap continued to work on getting the stumps around the table that Pap had already put together. Ruthee helped in directing so that all the children would have a stump that was just the right height for them to be able to sit on, so that they would be just the right height themselves at the table! Cool no-one was going to need a booster seat this year!
As Ruthee was just getting started on the name tags, everyone arrived at once…oh boy, such confusion, thought Maw…Oh well now we can explain what we are doing.
Great Maw and Great Pap, Grand Ma Chris, Maw and Pap explained that we were going to have a pilgrims Thanksgiving, which was why we are all dressed in warm clothes because we were all staying outside for the day…
Hmmm, thought the children, this was going to be a fun day…All the children started to take off in different directions…but…Aunt Ruthee had a different idea. She rounded up the children and got them to make their own name cards. They didn’t have to have their names on unless they wanted them on. And then she tacked them to the table where they were each supposed to sit.
The children then had to try out their stumps to see how well they fit…it was great!
Well there was a lot of excitement, the little girls got over not being able to wear their pretty dresses and played and played. This was the first time that Daisha and Zoe and Madison had an opportunity to spend time together and play and they were having a grand time. Mam-maw got a few dolls from in the house that were dressed as a pilgrim babies. They were wearing long dresses and wrapped up in warm blankets. Mam-maw also had pilgrim hats for everyone to put on. Even the grownups!
Then the boys big and little decided they had enough time for a short game of football before dinner was ready, but Maw had to get the football…it was rags, from everywhere on the farm…all tied up with bailing twine, and it kind of looked like a football, but not exactly. Great Pap saw it and he chuckled and chuckled, Great Maw saw it and she said, “Well would you look at that!”
Well the boys didn’t seem to mind, it worked pretty well.
As time was getting closer for dinner Ruth, and Shea, and Shea’s girlfriend went to the stream between the farm house and Mam-maw and Pappy’s house and got buckets of water, so that everyone could wash up before dinner…they then all joined hands and Uncle Samuel said the blessing and they sat down at their designated spots and enjoyed having a wonderful Thanksgiving feast. During dinner they went around the table and everyone listed the things that they were each thankful for. (As you read this prepare your children for doing just this very thing)
After dinner there was some time spent playing football again and then finally everyone gathered around the huge fire to stay warm. Pappy and Mam-maw asked everyone what they thought of celebrating Thanksgiving in this fashion…and if anyone had learned anything….
Well Jacob asked the first question…What would the pilgrims have done if it had rained….That was a very good questions, and it was decided amongst the family that they may have all gone to one of the Indians long houses. Were everyone could be together and in out of the rain.
Shea and Elijah were curios about the way that people lived in general back then. These two didn’t so much ask a question as much as they gave us all some things to think about. They are very good at this, they are both so bright (that’s a grandmother talking, but it so true).
Madie and Zoe wanted to know, were did they go potty if they didn’t have a house…we all told them that they went potty in the woods. Hmmm they had to think about this answer.
Jacob and Ryan decided that life must have been very different back then, and Daisha and Trenton, now fast friends, wondered about going to school, were did they go and what was there school like? This one question garnered the most discussion, with all involved, the children really wondered about not being able to have school, because of there not being a building. With the number of building being so many, they had a hard time thinking in terms of NO buildings at all.
Well my friends and family, I was really hoping to get this out to you all yesterday, but my brain froze, and I was having a little difficulty. But I have come to an end and I really pray that you all had wonderful Thanksgivings, at least here in the US. If you all are reading this in other parts of the world then this is what we could have experienced had we lived about 250 years earlier here in this country. I also pray that you realize how terribly important it is for the world to be able to worship in freedom. And to not have to worry about being killed because of your faith whatever it may be.
For me God is good, and all His people said, “All the time!”
Now go and be a blessing!
The children then had to try out their stumps to see how well they fit…it was great!
Well there was a lot of excitement, the little girls got over not being able to wear their pretty dresses and played and played. This was the first time that Daisha and Zoe and Madison had an opportunity to spend time together and play and they were having a grand time. Mam-maw got a few dolls from in the house that were dressed as a pilgrim babies. They were wearing long dresses and wrapped up in warm blankets. Mam-maw also had pilgrim hats for everyone to put on. Even the grownups!
Then the boys big and little decided they had enough time for a short game of football before dinner was ready, but Maw had to get the football…it was rags, from everywhere on the farm…all tied up with bailing twine, and it kind of looked like a football, but not exactly. Great Pap saw it and he chuckled and chuckled, Great Maw saw it and she said, “Well would you look at that!”
Well the boys didn’t seem to mind, it worked pretty well.
As time was getting closer for dinner Ruth, and Shea, and Shea’s girlfriend went to the stream between the farm house and Mam-maw and Pappy’s house and got buckets of water, so that everyone could wash up before dinner…they then all joined hands and Uncle Samuel said the blessing and they sat down at their designated spots and enjoyed having a wonderful Thanksgiving feast. During dinner they went around the table and everyone listed the things that they were each thankful for. (As you read this prepare your children for doing just this very thing)
After dinner there was some time spent playing football again and then finally everyone gathered around the huge fire to stay warm. Pappy and Mam-maw asked everyone what they thought of celebrating Thanksgiving in this fashion…and if anyone had learned anything….
Well Jacob asked the first question…What would the pilgrims have done if it had rained….That was a very good questions, and it was decided amongst the family that they may have all gone to one of the Indians long houses. Were everyone could be together and in out of the rain.
Shea and Elijah were curios about the way that people lived in general back then. These two didn’t so much ask a question as much as they gave us all some things to think about. They are very good at this, they are both so bright (that’s a grandmother talking, but it so true).
Madie and Zoe wanted to know, were did they go potty if they didn’t have a house…we all told them that they went potty in the woods. Hmmm they had to think about this answer.
Jacob and Ryan decided that life must have been very different back then, and Daisha and Trenton, now fast friends, wondered about going to school, were did they go and what was there school like? This one question garnered the most discussion, with all involved, the children really wondered about not being able to have school, because of there not being a building. With the number of building being so many, they had a hard time thinking in terms of NO buildings at all.
Well my friends and family, I was really hoping to get this out to you all yesterday, but my brain froze, and I was having a little difficulty. But I have come to an end and I really pray that you all had wonderful Thanksgivings, at least here in the US. If you all are reading this in other parts of the world then this is what we could have experienced had we lived about 250 years earlier here in this country. I also pray that you realize how terribly important it is for the world to be able to worship in freedom. And to not have to worry about being killed because of your faith whatever it may be.
For me God is good, and all His people said, “All the time!”
Now go and be a blessing!
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