It's Not About the Food

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I hope your day is filled with sunshine, happiness, and oh so many blessings! I know things look a little different this year, but that won't change the many blessings we have received this year. I'll set a table for two, but you can bet my kids and grandkids will be close by in thoughts and memories.

Speaking of memories, this week my mind has been filled with so many thoughts of Thanksgivings past but there's one particular memory that keeps popping up. It's a good one and it seems so fitting for today, so I thought I would share it with you. I hope you enjoy.

It was Thanksgiving. I was hosting and I had completed all the neccessary hostess duties. The turkey and rolls were baked, the potatoes were mashed, and the table was set. Everything was ready to go. The guests would soon be arriving with their covered dishes, and then the meal would be complete. What could go wrong? It was going to be the feast of all feasts.

KnocK, knock, knock! The guests started to arrive, and what do you know - they were even on time! So I rushed to greet my guests and much to my surprise, and as they handed over their covered dishes, here's what I found:

Guests #1 - one bag of frozen peas. (Say what?)
Guests #2 - two cans of pork 'n beans in a brown paper sack (Brothers!)
Guest #3 - one unthawed Schwans' frozen pie still in the box (when's dessert?)
And guest #4 - two "liquid" pies that could be served with a soup ladle.
AND THAT WAS IT! REALLY? This is Thanksgiving?

Oh my! Realizing I must act fast, I raced to the fridge, opened the door, and there it was (or wasn't) -- nothing! Nothing but a jar of dill pickles and two Bud Lites!!! Oh brother!

And then, before I could even get a grip on myself, the drama queen inside me appeared, and I suddenly found myself in the nearest unoccupied room, having the biggest meltdown of my life! (So much for all my past stress management training!) This stress was REAL and it was NOW!

But what happened next, is the thing I'll never forget. My mother, the soupy pie maker, (bless her soul), snuck into the room, put her arm around me, and gave me a lecture that has stuck with me ever since.

"What's the problem?" she asked.

"What's the problem?" I snapped. "Didn't you see what just happened? How can we have Thanksgiving with a bag of frozen peas, two cans of pork 'n beans, and I know you tried, but that soup--- I mean pie! Wahhhhh!"

"Stop it! Stop it right now!" she said. Then she gently wiped my tears and said these words. "Oh Diane! Don't you know? It's not about the food! No! It's about the love that sits around your table!!!"

The love that sits around my table. I stopped. I dried my eyes once more and I hugged my mom. Once again she was right. She was always right. It wasn't about the food. It never was. It definately was about the love that sat around the table.

So Mom - I'm thinking about you today, as Jer and are are seated at our Thanksgiving table, and our kids are saying the blessing in their own homes.

Yep! It's not about the food. It's about the love that sits around your table!

Now Jer - pass that gravy! Even if it is a bit lumpy! Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

She was always right!