I thought about my grandmother a lot yesterday. It started with my cousins coming to Thanksgiving dinner. Kevin and I have never hosted Thanksgiving, yet when I found out my cousin Jesse was moving into town, I couldn’t be more excited to host. I have another cousin that lives in Newport Beach, and Thanksgiving is about family, right? So I started creating my menu. When my cousin Mackenzie told me she was bringing piegorgies, all the memories came flooding back. I started thinking about mashed potatoes, ambrosia, and meatballs.
All my grandparents have passed. But I have great memories of Thanksgivings and Christmases at Sweetie and Grandpa’s house; my mom’s parents. I know the layout of their basement by heart; small bar, fireplace that had a “fake” log, pool table we would cover with a large wood plank to place all the delicious food for holidays. There was the table where the parents sat (with huge vinyl pillows we would slide along the linoleum floor afterwards), the kids table, and toys my grandparents always had on hand. There was a small piano and life-like marionettes I remember vividly.
I thought about my grandmother mainly because as I was looking through my single oven, small kitchen, I wondered how she fed 30. My grandparents grew up during the depression and were incredibly frugal; yet looking back, I felt spoiled and loved every time we went there. It really is a gift to grow up so close to family. Sweetie (a name I gave her when I was a toddler; I heard her calling my grandpa sweetie and so I called her the same) was such a warm, sweet spirit. I remember her laugh to this day.
I called my mom today because the recipe she gave me for Sweetie’s meatballs didn’t quite work out. They fell apart as I was cooking them, and we discussed HOW my grandmother fed so many. My mom shared that whenever one of her siblings would have a baptism or confirmation, they would have as many as 80 family members, and my grandmother would cook tirelessly, often sending pre-cooked dishes to neighbors’ refrigerators until they were needed.
It’s odd to look at this picture – 3 people have passed since 2008 – but I am SO THANKFUL. I am thankful to have grown up with so much love, to have such rich memories, to be so rooted to my family. I’m lucky. Happy Thanksgiving.
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