Thanksgiving 

Today, the day before Thanksgiving, is a good time to reminisce about all that have gone before.
The ones I remember most are those spent on Tholozan, of course.  By the time Brian was a toddler,
I was driving.  On several Thanksgivings, my brothers and sister all went to a park so Brian could get out and about and not have to be hanging around making mischief. His favorite was Wilmore

Besides, being near the kitchen on Thanksgiving was like being in no man's land.  Mary Fran
wrestling with the bird, Grandma Hilda making pies and both women defending their own
work space was enough to send us to another location.  Brian could go with confidence knowing
that Hilda would not forget her Hansie and there indeed would be a chocolate pie in addition to
the pumpkin pie, which held no appeal to him.

Around a week before Thanksgiving, Perry Como would have a TV special.  In addition To Ave Maria and There's No Place  Like Home for the Holidays, he would sing Bless This House.  My Mom said every time she heard it she would feel guilty because the next line is With Windows Shining and she knew she hadn't washed a window in years!

Tomorrow, the three Pucketts will be dining on Honey Baked Ham and having the younger
Whitakers over for pie and coffee in the evening.  On Sunday, we will have Thanksgiving.
It will be a huge milestone for us because Sally and John will be preparing the feast for the
first time.  I can't wait because last year's Christmas dinner was a revelation.  She made prime
rib and roasted veggies and it was spectacular.

I will make the stuffing and pies.  I really feel old and useless but it keeps me humble.
Old, but humble.  I'm thankful for all the wonderful Thanksgivings past and those to come.
I hope you will have the blessing of a thankful family and really good food!

Grandma Mary

Two years ago, my Mother passed away on October 1,  At that time, my daughter, Diane, wrote the following as a tribute to her Grandma Mary.  I had not seen it until she shared it with me a few days ago. I would like to share it with you.

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When I was young,  I looked to my Grandma for strength and happiness.  Now, as I walk through the day, I look towards the horizon and am reminded of the fond times we have spent with Grandma and
I now know, through the sun and rain, God gives us precious gifts we need and thrive on.

Our Grandma was our strength in our hard times and our pleasure in our fun times. Life is given to us as a long country road to stride upon.  Even though she is gone, the road will be paved for us with
her voice and advice, her knowledge, and her ever-caring, nurturing, friendly soul.

She was loved in the sad times and the happy and  caring times together.  Her life was intertwined with worries a- plenty,  yet the parts she cherished and remembered outweighed these times of hard knocks and trials of faith.

She will always be on my mind as  a source of grace and fulfillment in my times of loneliness or times I don't have a way to contact my friends. She did't go to heaven alone; she went  to the angels with the blessings of her loved ones. She was generous in handing down her love and our love for her is three-fold.   She went to heaven with the angels and she will truly never be alone, with our blessings by her side and in her own mind's  eye in pockets of our hearts.

God  has given her a bed of roses and we will  send her a bowl of cherries  (besides standing for her sweet way ), ripe for the beauty she always had in he sweet, rosy pink cheeks!  She will be loved forever in our hearts.