Time is flying by!

I just cooked my favorite meal in the world, Thanksgiving feast! I very much love to cook this meal; I get up very early, slip on my walking shoes (for support) and begin the business of chopping and dicing. Making the stuffing, a favorite of mine. I use my mom’s recipe and dearly love not only the flavor, but the memories of Thanksgivings past, when my whole family was one and we would sit down to a fabulous meal prepared by my mom.

Remembering when my brother Ian ate a whole pumpkin pie, and the times we would drive my dad crazy with the fingers running around the rims of our wine glasses, making the (annoying) humming noise. The smells in the house with the turkey in the oven, I even miss the mad woman my mom would become when she got on her cleaning jag just before any major holiday. But alas, families do not always stay close and these are only memories.
For the past 12 years I have been making new memories with my husband, the turkey wrestler, he always helps me get the bird into the sink for his final bath, pats him down and helps me prepare him for stuffing and roasting. This year my turkey came out beautiful, the stuffing perfect, and dessert was delightful. I made the Pumpkin Pie Crunch, you can Google that if you like, I topped it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and a drizzle of homemade cranberry with orange sauce. I think this is my new holiday tradition! It was pretty, tasty and above all, stress free.

Recently my life has been a bit rough; my mom had another stroke and spent about 3 months in a rehab hospital. She is home now and doing really well, albeit, we have a new normal around Casa Clarkson, but taking care of her is not the hard or rough part. I realize I’m still not ready to talk about it, but it has made my life really difficult and made my heart very heavy. Family can be the best, bar none, and it can be the worst, bar none. What I am thankful for this thanksgiving is my loving and supportive husband, and that my mom is still with me and still has her mind and humor.

Go forth and be thankful!