Thanksgiving Past

Thanks to my blogging friend over at Reel Focus, I am able to recall a Thanksgiving from the past that always makes me chuckle and gag a little.  I'm sure everyone has funny stories from holidays past but this one always comes to mind first.

 

My favorite story is the year we spent Thanksgiving dinner at my then brother-in-law's house some 20+ years ago. He cooked a beautiful bird and the family all brought the trimmings. We ate and ate, watched football and went home. The next day, he kindly invited us over to eat leftovers. 

 

A little background on my first hubby's family. They love to eat. My

mother-in-law, may she rest in peace, was a fabulous cook and my

f-i-l was a cook in the army. They knew how to feed people and

with 6 kids, that skill came in handy. When I met my

first husband, they were always trying to feed me as I

was underweight scrawny and didn't quite fit in. I literally

learned how to eat and cook better because of them. I

learned how to throw things together, how to store food and how

to feed a crowd. There was never a time when I would go to

their house and not find something sitting on the stove

to eat. With a large family, sitting together for dinner was

impossible but it was comforting to know I could go there and

be fed. Oh, how I miss that lovely red-headed

woman who was my second mom.

 

Fast forward to the day after t-day at my brother-in-law's place. The weather in Fairbanks was probably right at minus 20 degrees F and he always had the wood stove stoked. He loved keeping his house right at 78 to 80 degrees. The day after t-day was no different. We arrived and settled in to visit and munch on leftovers. He had left the turkey out on the stove (covered, of course) overnight and I remember thinking it looked a little bubbly but I was too young to know what that meant.

 

Do you see where I'm going here?

 

We enjoyed all the leftovers, great conversation, played cards and poker and then headed home to nestle into our beds.

 

The next day, my then-hubby and I woke up sicker than sick. We didn't really put it all together until we started calling other family members.  My poor brother-in-law wasn't going to take the blame but when the dogs displayed the same exact symptoms, there was no denying we had food poisoning. And ohhhhh were we sick!

 

While it wasn't all that funny then, we often referred to it later on in situations where we were going to be spending holidays at his house. We were always careful to rib him gently about it ... he was a little sensitive.  I am continually amazed by the events in my life that stick in my mind.  I can still see that bird bubbling in the roaster as clear as that day so long ago. We're lucky we didn't all end up in the hospital!

 

How about you? What stories do you have from holidays past that need telling? 

 

Don't let your memories go untold.

 

love, susan