It’s not often that I get to take four days in a row off. And this year, I counted down the days until Thanksgiving rolled around and I could savor the entire experience of an elegant holiday meal, the thrill of shopping for Christmas gifts on Black Friday, watching a huge early season college basketball game on television and lazily doing nothing significant for the remainder of the weekend.
But while what I envisioned happening did not come to fruition, this was one holiday that reinforced for me what is truly important during this time of year.
Somehow things were coming together for the Thanksgiving meal. My wife, Nancy, who is a terrific cook, had baked her pies ahead of time and carefully monitored the progress of our 14-pound turkey as it roasted in the oven.
The fancy dishes were on the table and all that stood between a tasty meal and our family was my turn carving the bird. This is a job I look forward to every year and always cut a little bit extra for hot turkey sandwiches over the long weekend.
But, as they say, the best laid plans were not to be.
Cutting into the turkey, I discovered that the bird, which had been cooking in the oven for more than three hours, was not thoroughly cooked. Apparently, the heating element in our oven malfunctioned and left us with a half-cooked main dish that set the tone for the rest of the meal. We made do by slicing off the top layer that was cooked enough so we could salvage a meal, but that also meant the pie crusts were not done perfectly either.
Both my stepson Dan and I complimented Nancy on all the hard work she did preparing the mashed potatoes and all the rest of the trimmings and fixings, and she said she was appreciative for the kind words. Yet, the disappointment at the dining table was palpable and it’s probably the fastest our family has ever disposed of a half-carved turkey carcass in all of our Thanksgivings together.
We all smiled and vowed to do it all again for Christmas Day and to make it right the second time around.
On Friday, my stepson decided to work on a problem with his Jeep and ended up breaking a mechanical part, so instead of Black Friday shopping, I drove with him over to the auto mechanic’s shop to drop it off for a costly repair. Of course, the mechanic was not working throughout the long holiday weekend, so when he had to return to work Sunday night, I had to loan him my vehicle so he could get back and forth to his job on time.
On Saturday night, I eagerly wanted to stay up to watch my favorite college basketball team play an old rival, but couldn’t stay awake to make it to the 9:30 p.m. tipoff time.
Luckily, I was able to stream a rebroadcast of the game on Sunday afternoon, but by then I already knew the outcome after the result was plastered all over social media by my old college pals. Yet alongside me as I watched the game were Nancy and Dan, who really are not college basketball fans, but cheered right along with me as I tried to pretend I didn’t know who was going to win the game.
As the weekend wore on, I also found it difficult to fathom that this is the first year that my 95-year-old mother would not be celebrating the holidays. She passed away in August after several years of declining health. I consider myself fortunate to have been able to visit her last spring for a few days and at that time, we talked about our memories of Thanksgiving holidays of years gone by.
So as I laid down Sunday evening to contemplate my week ahead, the thing that struck me the most about this long holiday weekend was how resilient my family truly is.
The lesson to be learned from all of this is that it doesn’t matter how expensive or fancy your meal is, what your plans are, or how much you may want for things to work out. None of us can control the circumstances we find ourselves in at any given time. There are some things that happen unexpectedly that do not have a quick and easy remedy.
The memory I will carry away from this long holiday weekend is that we are a family and we support each other in good times and in trying times. You see, the important thing about a holiday to remember and treasure forever is the fact you are sharing it with the people who matter the most to you. The rest is nothing but gravy.
— Executive Editor Ed Pierce can be reached at 282-1535 or by email at editor@journaltribune.com
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