Canadian Thanksgiving

When I was a child, Thanksgiving and the harvest were integrally connected. Most families depended one way or another on the harvest that took place in late August and September. We would decorate our little church with our gardens' bounty. Feed bales and sheafs of grain placed near the alter were important reminders of our livelihood and what fueled our rural town's econony. Our church services expressed gratitude and thanks for what we had.
At school we would color cornucopia full of fruit that in truth never was seldom part of our diet. We'd decorate our classroom with dried leaves pressed between sheets of waxed paper which were then suspended from the ceiling. One year I learned how to make a turkey from a roll of lifesavers and some construction paper to use as table decorations for our special meal.

Thanksgiving meant my mother didn't have to "work" on the Monday but when I consider the meal she prepared of turkey, dressing, gravy, mashed potatoes, turnips and carrots, pickled beets, cranberry sauce, brussel sprouts and lots of pumpkin pie clearly she did not have a day of rest. The menu for Thanksgiving hasn't changed much since I was a child except that we have replaced those nasty brussel sprouts with green beans, added sweet potato casserole from our tryst in the US, and sweet rolls that I learned to make.
Fancy gourds, pumpkins and mountain ash berries have replaced the pressed leaves and colored cornucopia. Our livelihood doesn't depend directly upon the harvest. But the holiday is still very important for me and I do wish to express thanks.
I am thankful for four children, a son-in-law I am getting to know, a husband who is true and still crazy about me after all these years. I am thankful for a mother, sister, and brother who encourage my wildest dreams. I am thankful for clean water, for a warm home, education. I am thankful for friends: book club, hiking, walking, skating, shopping, making salsa, travelling to Cuba, canning pear kind of friends. I am thankful for good health, for opportunities to develop myself and to share with others. I am thankful for my faith in Jesus Christ and for scriptures and hymns. I am thankful for rock and roll and hair dye and Lindt chocolate. I am thankful for these and so many other blessings which exceed all expectation. Happy Thanksgiving!