I simply love the fall season with all its holidays, however every Thanksgiving there is an ongoing dilemma! I love the seasonal changes that begin to occur at the beginning of fall. As a child growing up in Tennessee, I got to experience the feeling of the crisp cool cleanliness in the air and got to eyewitness the beautiful bold colorful leaves that fall brings. There’s nothing better than sitting on a hill experiencing a cool breeze, watching the leaves fall, and getting that feeling of anticipation that something wonderful is about to happen. So, was my dilemma that we were poor and I experienced a negative money glitch every Thanksgiving? No, not really! The fall season is the most plentiful time of the year if you live on a farm. The crops are in and the fall begins a time you can slow down from the fast pace of the summer. As a matter of fact, I love Thanksgiving and all the numerous traditions that it brings.

Thanksgiving Stories

My childhood stories consist of one main story that consistently repeated year after year; and most of that was fine with me except for the one dilemma I will discuss a little later. The main story begins right after Halloween; you knew Thanksgiving was coming because the wild turkeys would begin to attempt to hide and blend in with the woods. The cows and pigs would breathe a sigh of relief because they knew they did not have to worry this season. The chickens remained a little edgy; however, they knew if it was a “good year of plenty” they were not in much danger either. Perhaps only one of them would most likely be required for the cornbread dressing.

If you are a city dweller or a vegetarian, you’re probably a little grossed out about now, however, if you’ve lived on a farm then you know that this is a way of life. Growing up on a farm with the only source of income being generated through what you can plant, grow, and or produce; you don’t make pets of the livestock that you may have to sell or eat later on. In my early childhood my parents were true farmers and did not experience any money glitch situations by having to go to the market and purchase food. In the earlier years, trips to the store consisted of purchasing flour, sugar, and seasonings like baking powder, yeast and cloves. Everything else except for our Halloween candy was grown on the farm or procured though farmers’ bartering and trading. Moreover, a farm-raised Thanksgiving consists of great food (free from preservatives) and other holiday traditions.

All Thanksgiving traditions began by way of a historic event. For that reason I thought it appropriate to provide a link to a video on The History of the Thanksgiving Holiday. And of course, you cannot have Thanksgiving without watching Charlie Brown’s Thanksgiving.

From generation to generation all families have started traditions that occur during Thanksgiving. As a child I loved watching cartoons, going to parades, and eating, eating, and eating again. Traditions often times change over the years due to parents getting older; children getting married and developing their own family traditions; and jobs requiring families to move to other parts of the world. Now that I am older and my immediate family does not get together for this holiday mostly because of distance; I still hold to the tradition of watching cartoons, looking at Macy's Thanksgiving parades, and eating.

My parents had six children so Thanksgiving meals were huge. Each sibling got to choose at least one vegetable or starch they would like to have for that special holiday meal. My mom, bless her loving heart, would start preparing dishes two days ahead of time. This was smart of course because we then would have leftovers for at least a couple of days. A typical meal for this holiday consisted of all farm-fresh, home-grown, preservative-free foods. My favorite meal would have:

Vegetable & Starch Dishes:

• Fresh-cut green beans
• Collard & Mustard Greens
• Black-eyed peas & fresh-cut onions
• Cole Slaw & fresh-cut tomatoes
• Corn on the cob dripping with home-made butter
• Macaroni and cheese casserole
  
• Mashed potatoes and home-made gravy
• Sweet potatoes casserole with pecans and marshmallows

Meat Dishes

• 25-30 lb. Turkey & giblet gravy
• Beef roast & a ham when we had guest
• Corn bread stuffing with chicken pieces in it
• Topped with a combination of cranberry sauce and fresh cranberries

Breads

• Mounds of Home-made rolls dripping with home-made butter
• Corn bread muffins & White sandwich bread

Desserts

• Strawberry Cake & Chocolate Cake
  
• Pecan & Pumpkin Pies

So, after reading such an exquisite extravaganza I’m sure you are still wondering, what on earth is my dilemma that I wrote about in the beginning. O.k. here goes…

I’m sure by now you can tell that Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday next to Christmas. I simply love everything about Thanksgiving except for one thing. My dilemma is that I was officially born on the Friday after Thanksgiving. All my life family and friends get so wrapped up in the festivities of the holiday that my birthday is very rarely officially celebrated. My loved one either thinks about it way too soon or way too late. Sure every 7 years the date of the 26^th does happen to fall on Thanksgiving, but even when this happens, I still have no fond memories of receiving a birthday cake on that holiday. I can count on one hand the number of years that I’ve had a special birthday that was a day truly just for me.

Now that I’m older and no longer living on a farm; because of the added expenses and other money glitches that my family and friends have experienced over the years, gifts are small if and when the birthday is actually recalled. Needless to say, throughout my childhood and even now, I feel like my birthday has less importance than any of my loved ones. Birthdays like celebratory holidays are important within my family environment, however with mine everyone seems to always be confused. I’ve even threatened to change my birthday to another month just to get that special attention that everyone else does on their birthdays. Sigh! So, that’s the dilemma I have with Thanksgiving, however, this holiday is about having gratitude so let’s move on to my thankful list.

My personal list for this holiday consists of being thankful for being happy, healthy, wealthy, and wise.

• Happy – Thankful to be able to love and care for others and having the satisfaction of knowing that love and care is being returned to me bountifully.
• Healthy - Grateful for the health of my family members that are still living, and thankful that the ones that were plagued with illnesses have found God’s grace and have moved on to a better place.
• Wealthy – Thankful with the anticipation that one day all my material needs will be met and grateful that soon everyone that lost finances during this money glitch recession will recover.
• Wise – Appreciative in knowing the ole saying of “this too shall pass” and thankful for learning the importance of showing gratitude in all situations. Bad situations help to mold you into becoming who you are meant to be; and gratitude enables you to handle the journey along the way.

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone! Be sure to check out the other HubMob Thanksgiving traditions and stories below.