Sharing special memories of Thanksgiving: The smell of food, football games, laughing and so much more, but also remembering not everyone has these times. For those who don't, Ebenezer will invite you to our table and ask that you call Ebenezer to learn about a caring Ebenezer community near you.
For me, and possibly you, there's something very hopeful, hope-filled, exciting and energizing about this time of year. The anticipation of the pending traditional major holidays (Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day) is electrifying and energizing, knowing, for many of us, annual gatherings with people we don't see very much during the preceding months, are the proverbial frosting on the calendar's "cake." As is frequently the content in these blogs, I'll share a personal memory or two about Thanksgivings, past and present, as follows:
I mostly remember how special Thanksgiving was in the early to mid-1940s in Pittsburgh (my birthplace), when I was very much a pre-teenager. During those years of wonderment, observation and learning, my mother, grandfather and I were invited, for at least seven years, to shamelessly devour every Thanksgiving dinner with a huge and happy Italian family whose last name was Armocida. The number of dishes prepared, mostly by the female Armocidas, numbered at least 15, to serve at least 20 guests. The mouth-watering smells wafting from the kitchen into the adjacent huge dining room made the anticipation grow to maximum levels for at least an hour and then it was time to begin the annual attack on the fantastic food choices. The choices included the traditional fare such as roast turkey, sage stuffing and so forth. The non-traditional dishes included Italian favorites such as spaghetti, lasagna and Italian desserts. All of it was devoured over the period of at least a half-hour, with the senior Armocidas using whiskey and other liquors as "chasers". Those of us too young or not into alcoholic beverages were very happy to "chase" the solid food with hot chocolate, milk or carbonated soft drinks. Even though it's obviously best to pay attention to healthier eating, the Thanksgiving dinners at the Armocidas in those days paid no attention to healthy eating, but rather paid all the attention to being able to enjoy such happy gluttony and warm togetherness, even if only once a year. (Those visits also included playing board games and LISTENING to football games on the radio, until 1948, when televised games allowed us to listen and WATCH, which we did.)
In subsequent years, Thanksgiving for my family and me has been less raucous, but always observed gratefully for the blessings we have and share with one another. The cuisine consists of traditional turkey, stuffing, vegetables and pumpkin pie. Those of us blessed enough to enjoy the tradition that began in the 1620s are VERY blessed indeed
We are truly so blessed for all we have and should never take our happiness for granted, but especially so on the one day set aside to remember how fortunate we are in this country. As was noted in the headline, if you don’t have a Thanksgiving to attend, Ebenezer invites you to the table at one of our communities. Please call Ebenezer to learn more (612) 874-3422. Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!
Thank you for reading, as always.
For me, and possibly you, there's something very hopeful, hope-filled, exciting and energizing about this time of year. The anticipation of the pending traditional major holidays (Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day) is electrifying and energizing, knowing, for many of us, annual gatherings with people we don't see very much during the preceding months, are the proverbial frosting on the calendar's "cake." As is frequently the content in these blogs, I'll share a personal memory or two about Thanksgivings, past and present, as follows:
I mostly remember how special Thanksgiving was in the early to mid-1940s in Pittsburgh (my birthplace), when I was very much a pre-teenager. During those years of wonderment, observation and learning, my mother, grandfather and I were invited, for at least seven years, to shamelessly devour every Thanksgiving dinner with a huge and happy Italian family whose last name was Armocida. The number of dishes prepared, mostly by the female Armocidas, numbered at least 15, to serve at least 20 guests. The mouth-watering smells wafting from the kitchen into the adjacent huge dining room made the anticipation grow to maximum levels for at least an hour and then it was time to begin the annual attack on the fantastic food choices. The choices included the traditional fare such as roast turkey, sage stuffing and so forth. The non-traditional dishes included Italian favorites such as spaghetti, lasagna and Italian desserts. All of it was devoured over the period of at least a half-hour, with the senior Armocidas using whiskey and other liquors as "chasers". Those of us too young or not into alcoholic beverages were very happy to "chase" the solid food with hot chocolate, milk or carbonated soft drinks. Even though it's obviously best to pay attention to healthier eating, the Thanksgiving dinners at the Armocidas in those days paid no attention to healthy eating, but rather paid all the attention to being able to enjoy such happy gluttony and warm togetherness, even if only once a year. (Those visits also included playing board games and LISTENING to football games on the radio, until 1948, when televised games allowed us to listen and WATCH, which we did.)
In subsequent years, Thanksgiving for my family and me has been less raucous, but always observed gratefully for the blessings we have and share with one another. The cuisine consists of traditional turkey, stuffing, vegetables and pumpkin pie. Those of us blessed enough to enjoy the tradition that began in the 1620s are VERY blessed indeed
We are truly so blessed for all we have and should never take our happiness for granted, but especially so on the one day set aside to remember how fortunate we are in this country. As was noted in the headline, if you don’t have a Thanksgiving to attend, Ebenezer invites you to the table at one of our communities. Please call Ebenezer to learn more (612) 874-3422. Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!
Thank you for reading, as always.
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