Mundane Magic » Thanksgiving 2010

AS THE THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY APPROACHED, our family had more on their mind than just the meal itself. The week before Thanksgiving found me in a surgical waiting room praying for good results from my father’s heart valve repair surgery. My father has an inherited condition which have made visits and procedures a part of our life for years. It seems that each time an issue arises, technology and procedures advance which allow the procedures to be even more successful. Admittedly, this was a very serious surgery, but knowing that it was able to be performed robotically through small openings instead of an open heart procedure was a blessing. This is why I often urge my friends to seek the very best medical care available to them…having the best situation medically may allow for a better outcome overall. This has certainly been the case for my father.

My husband thankfully held our household together while I was gone. When I returned I found him planning our trip to my parent’s home to prepare for their homecoming following surgery. Originally we had planned to host Thanksgiving Dinner at our home. Dave’s sister was coming in from Kansas and we were looking forward to the events of that week. When his sister was unable to make the trip due to her own health concerns, it seemed that we were meant to celebrate in a neighboring state with my side of the family. On Monday we headed out after work for my parent’s home in Alabama. We weren’t sure if my father would be released from the hospital in time, but we cooked and planned for their homecoming. Dad was still in the CICU at this point, but he was recovering on schedule. Our backup plan was to eat Thanksgiving with them in the hospital if necessary, freezing whatever we had prepared for a later date. Thankfully we did not have to use that backup plan.

My sister and I had a blast cooking together. It was made even more special knowing that this was a meal in which my parents lovingly cook time tested family recipes. My father has become the curator of many of these recipes which our grandparents passed along in the kitchen. In many cases he has translated the “pinch and a handful” measurements into quantitative amounts that make it possible for anyone to cook them successfully…even his two daughters who may have not inherited the cooking gene!