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.