I realized today that in my lifetime, I've celebrated many Thanksgivings. I have decided to look back at some of the most memorable ones:
1970 (or so) - When I was a child, most of my Thanksgivings were spent at my mom's brother's house; Thanksgiving and Aunt Miriam, Uncle Norman, and cousins Loren and Cheri, went hand in hand. Aunt Miriam's favorite holiday was Thanksgiving. They invited so many people every year, including my dad's parents and my Uncle Bobby.
Anyway, when I was about 14 years old, Aunt Miriam heard about a new way of cooking the turkey. Everyone who attended suffered from food poisoning a day or so later!
1974 - My parents came from California to Colorado to spend Thanksgiving with me. A huge blizzard hit the state. My brother Billy was supposed to come from Denver with Ron Shaver, but had to cancel due to weather. My parents and I decided we would still celebrate. We opened the oven to remove the turkey, and realized my mom had not turned on the oven. My dad started looking at Thanksgiving restaurant ads. We ended finally cooking that turkey, but eating very late.
1977 - I was a senior at Colorado College then. I remember eating at the Bemis dining hall with my friends Frank Langben and Elaine Emmer. Later, Elaine and I were invited to someone's house for dinner, but we didn't want to pass us the dining hall afternoon meal! (This year, 2009, I've reconnected with Elaine! I am also overjoyed to be in touch with my friend Frank!)
1980 or 1981 - I won a grocery store certificate for $25 from Albertsons. Dan and I decided to use that money to make Thanksgiving in our home and to invite people to spend the day with us who did not have a place to go or families. I will never forget how great an experience that was.
1984 - We spent many wonderful Thanksgivings with my Grandma Fannie and my sister Lynnellen and my Uncle Bobby when we lived in Long Beach. My dad had a heart attack and recovered in 1984, so our entire family was on a health kick. I cooked everything from scratch, used no fat, took out the eggs yolks from the pies, and made health food stuffing. It was a delicious meal.
1986 - My sister Lynnellen was pregnant with her first child, Drew. We invited one of my dad's favorite medical students to spend Thanksgiving with us at my Grandma Fannie's house.
1989 - We lived in San Francisco then. I think the fun Thanksgiving at Lori Baron's flat in San Francisco took place that year. I took an amusing video from that Thanksgiving. Someday, I'll get that video up on YouTube. I especially remember when David Mishkin interviewed Terry Korotkin with a banana!
1991 - Dan and I had just arrived in Colorado. Billy's inlaws, the Sutherlands, invited us to their house in Denver. We spent several holidays at the Sutherlands during Billy's early days of marriage.
1998 - We went to Breckenridge, Colorado with my friend Larisa Gendernalik and her son, Alex. We rented a condo together. We ate dinner at a fancy buffet in Breckenridge. I wondered why I didn't feel like eating. The next morning, I took a pregnancy test and found out I was pregnant. Dan and I went cross country skiing and ice skating that day. Annabelle was born 8 months or so later! Joel and Rebekah's first skiing took place at Kinderhut in Breckenridge.
2005 - Dan had just come home from the hospital after being in a horrible accident that almost took him away from us. Just before Thanksgiving Day, he had been rushed back to the hospital. We thought he'd have to spend it there, but he got to come home. My parents came and we had a wonderful time together as a family. Dan's brother Mike was also there.
The next day, we took Dan to the YMCA so he could take a shower since his wheelchair wouldn't fit in our bathroom. Afterwards, we went to my friend Larisa Gendernalik's house for another Thanksgiving dinner since her family decided to celebrate together on Friday instead of Thursday. That was one of the last times we saw Larisa's daughter, Valerie. (Valerie was murdered during Memorial Day Weekend 2008.)
2007 - Since we had to leave for Junior Nationals only two days after Thanksgiving, we spent a quiet Thanksgiving together as a family. The kids even skated at Colorado College on Thanksgiving morning. The kids really enjoyed that Thanksgiving since they could be themselves. Each kid especially enjoyed the whipped cream!
2008 - My brother and his wife Amy invited us to our family's vacation home in Larkspur for a huge family Thanksgiving celebration. It was so very special. Everything was beautiful!
Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!
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