Memories of Thanksgiving

Ah.......Thanksgiving! It congers up a Norman Rockwell scene in the mind of many folks, but memories, real memories are not made up of Norman Rockwell perfection, but rather the joyous memories of imperfections.

I love the write about my Mom. My Mom was a really incredible lady. Not because she was a perfect Mother, but because she was strong, she was smart and she tried so damn hard to make it through a life that was anything but perfect. I like to think I'm like my Mom.

As I think back on Thanksgivings past I have to think of my Mom, Cookie Wright. Can I digress for a moment and tell you, your life is an interesting experience when your Mom's name is Cookie.

Despite her shortcomings, my Mom valued family tradition and no matter if the house was full or if it was just her and I, she always cooked Thanksgiving dinner. Cookie wasn't a good cook, but she tried.

My favorite Thanksgiving memory was one which only she and I shared. Although I have three siblings, I am the youngest by far so much of my adventure with Cookie was solo and may I say memorable.

In the fall of 1987, I was a freshman at Culver-Stockton College in Canton Missouri and that was also the year that Cookie switched jobs and moved to Mountain Home Arkansas. She moved over the Thanksgiving weekend to a tiny lake house on Norfork Lake. I drove from Canton to Mountain Home to spend the Holiday with her. It was day two in the new house. What Mom failed to realize is, the stove in the house was powered by propane and the propane tank was nearly empty. When it came time to cook Thanksgiving dinner, that tank was bone dry - we had no stove, no oven.

My Mom was ever resourceful and would not be talked into going out to eat. It was just the two of us but she was going to cook a Thanksgiving meal. I learned that Thanksgiving in 1987 that a Turkey can be cooked in a microwave and pumpkin pies will cook in a toaster over. I learned that a Mom will do what she has to do to make a dinner for a child who would not come to appreciate her efforts until after her death. I learned that family tradition is worth something. Most of all it was reinforced for me that Moms really are magic!

I have spent my adult life as a Mother trying to make the holidays perfect for my children. I do things a bit differently than Cookie did. This year, my house is not perfectly clean this night before Thanksgiving, I haven't even begun to cook and I'm not even stressed out. This year, I'm taking a page from Cookie's playbook. I'm going to love my kids more than anything in this world, I'm not going to expect anything to be perfect and I'm going to try my best but it may not work out "just so". I want my kids to remember how much I love them, not how the turkey tasted in 2009 and I think that will be just fine.

The American Woman in Today's Economy

It is true that most American families will spend less this Christmas season than in past years, the gifts that are purchased will have more thought, more meaning and more effort than ever before. Considering the Christmas shopping duty and task customarily falls to the female it is she who use her expertise to take this year’s more limited resources and transform them into meaningful holiday memories. As these holiday memories begin to take shape in her mind, she will pull her family together in a way which may have been missing in past years when the money flowed more freely and the gift were abundant. All in all this economic crisis can have a silver lining as America’s matriarchs reach into their bag of tricks to make sure each and every member of her family feels the magic of the holiday season rather than the sting of the economic shortfalls. As with most things in most societies, it will be the female who brings together individuals, eases fears and eases her family and community into a new situation. Once there is comfort in the family and community, fears will begin to ease and as fear diminishes, pocketbooks will once again begin to open. You see, economists can use facts and figures, charts and graphs but if you completely take the human element out of the equation, all that analysis will be for not. It is the true strength of the American Woman who can help transform economic tragedy into an opportunity for growth.
When the American Woman faces a challenge, she will almost always not only rise to the occasion, but she will make the necessary difference to change the world.