10 Hours of Cooking - 15 Minutes of Eating

Easy come, Easy go.

My parents came to our house and brought my 92 year old grandmother. My mom told me earlier in the week that they would be leaving around 10 which would put them here around 12:30. This was fine considering I was planning to have lunch on the table by 2 pm.

I decided I wanted to get my Thanksgiving shopping done on Tuesday night after I got home from classes at 7:45 pm. Wednesday morning I mixed up everything we were having and had it ready to go in the refrigerator by 2 pm. Roast Turkey Breast, Baked Ham, Dressing, Gravy, Broccoli Delight, Cheesy Corn Casserole, Baked Pineapple, Sweet Potatoes w/Apricots, Cranberry Salad, and Deviled Eggs. For dessert we had Butterscotch Supreme, Pumpkin Pie, Sweet Potato Pie and some Potato Roll my grandmother contributed. Everything was in the refrigerator ready to be baked on Thursday morning.

We had a great Thanksgiving Eve service on Wednesday night but I was beyond tired by the time the service was over. I was more than pleased there was no choir rehearsal after the service as is usually the case.

Anyway, my parents were early and caught me mopping the kitchen floor, which was the last thing on the list of things-to-do. My oldest son and his girlfriend came in a little later with my two grand-dogs and then my youngest son called from California where he is in the midst of desert training for the US Marines.

The dinner bell rang and we all gathered around as David said the blessing and we started the process. It was over in 30 minutes and that's only because we sat at the table and talked for a little while. Something that took 10 hours to prepare was consumed in 15 minutes. Can it possibly be worth all that?

Absolutely. To be able to spend time with my family is worth everything. I hope each of you were able to spend time with some if not all your family today.