Last weekend I celebrated Thanksgiving with my family. My oldest son, George, came up to my place the day before so that we could finish the shopping and get a few things ready the day ahead.
The rest of the family came on Thanksgiving Monday. Both Joe and Davey had hosted their in-laws on the Sunday, and were glad to have someone else host the next day. All five of my grandchildren were here. I might have wished for a warmer, sunnier day so that we could have all gone to the park to run off some energy, but the weather did cooperate enough to let them play outside for a short time anyway.
I had to be really careful when planning and preparing the meal. One of my daughters-in-law has celiac disease so we have to be aware of that when planning and serving the meal. A couple of years ago I used a pre-stuffed turkey and had to provide a second choice of meat because in the process of preparing and roasting the bird the outside got gluten on it. Lesson learned! This time there was no bread in or around the turkey, we enjoyed stovetop stuffing! When I made the cranberry sauce, the brown sugar was from a fresh bag, just in case! We had a dedicated butter for mashing the potatoes, cooking the carrots and putting into the squash. There is no way that I wanted to be responsible for her being in pain for days because of any carelessness on my part!
My mom has had celiac disease for about thirty-eight years, so I have been aware of it for a long time, but she is largely asymptomatic. That means she can have long term damage from exposure to wheat flour, but doesn’t have immediate symptoms. Both my one daughter-in-law and one of my sisters-in-law have immediate unpleasant reactions.
I tried an old recipe for peanut butter pie, a form of cheese cake. I was able to get a gluten-free graham cracker crust to go with it. Everyone really enjoyed that with cool whip and a drizzle of chocolate. The good news is that it is very low in carbohydrates for the diabetics in the family!
I very much enjoyed my time with my children and grandchildren! It is a lot like semi-organized chaos, but everyone was fed, and everyone had a good time. It is wonderful to see the grandchildren growing and enjoying time with their cousins. They live about five minutes apart in London, so they can enjoy play dates fairly frequently.
I was also quite tired when they all left. I remember a neighbour from about twenty years ago who would see his family off, then immediately lock his door. If they forgot anything, that was too bad! I don’t do that, but I am understanding the sentiment! By the time I had wished everyone safe travels, I was ready to put my feet up with a nice cup of tea. My cats came out of hiding about then too!
I give thanks for family and the joys of watching them grow!
